Batman Beyond: Heir to the Throne
by Oathkeeper93
Summary: 40 years ago Joker and Harley Quinn secretly had a son and now that son who has crowned himself the new Clown Prince of Crime and is looking to reclaim his father's former glory. AU Ch.5 is up! sorry about delays!
1. A Deadly Secret

Batman Beyond: Heir to the Throne

Prologue: A Deadly Secret

40 years ago:

"Don't worry Harls; this will be our little secret. Not even Batman will find out," said the Joker as he paced back and forth behind the arm chair Harley Quinn sat in.

"Sure thing Puddin'," replied the jester girl, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

Harley was not nervous about being close to the Joker; she had gotten used to the clown's creepy presence when he was her patient at Arkham. What she was nervous about was the bundle in her lap, which appeared to be a small pile of purple and green blankets, but inside lay inside a sleeping baby 18 inches long weighing seven pounds. It looked nothing like an ordinary baby because it had inherited genes from its father. It had short green hair, its skin was white as salt, and its mouth was in the form of a perfect smile. Dark ruby red lips smiled back at Harley as she stared at the sleeping infant.

The chair she sat in shook slightly as the Joker grabbed the back of it suddenly. "No one will know, Harley, no one. I promise you. Besides, there's no birth certificate any way."

Harley felt a bit more reassured when maniacal laughing filled the room.


	2. A New Clown in Town

A New Clown in Town

A man stood on the lonely corner of 5th and Cicero. His immense shadow was outlined in the moonlight. The man stood seven feet tall, although it looked black like the twilight surrounding him the man wore an violet suit something a pimp or gangster would wear but tailored differently, a green carnation sat in the place a red one would. The alarm of a watch beeping sounded "Right on cue" said the man as he pushed the button on his watch. It stopped beeping.

The man laughed to himself as he crossed the street, horns from the hovering cars yelled at him; however the man seemed oblivious to them. It was not until one of the cars surged forward and hit the man. He twisted around and fell onto the hood of the car.

"What in God's name is wrong with you, freak?!"Yelled the man in the car.

The man in the car soon regretted what he had said when the man who had fallen stood straight up. The man in the car had a look of fright on his face.

When he saw the other man's face, it seemed to be the color of salt against short green hair, green eyebrows and lips the color of blood stuck in a permanent smile. The clownish looking man laughed loudly, suddenly grabbed the edge of the car, and then let go. The man in the car watched from inside as the clown ran to the other side of the street, a look of terror and worry on his face.

The Joker reached into a pocket of his purple suit coat and pulled out a remote detonator, pushed the big red button, and erupted with laughter as he watched the car that had run into him explode in a brilliant light show of flames, creating a roadblock for the other cars.

Joker threw aside the useless gadget and turned and turned to face the lighted building behind him, the blue-lit letters upon which read "Mathis Jewelers". The explosion outside had caught the attention of the employees, who had run outside to investigate. Now they were all being held at gun and knife point by men in clown masks.

"Good timing boys!" exclaimed the Joker. "Alrighty let's get em' inside."

Once inside the hostages were gagged with dynamite strapped to them. The Joker kicked the body of a dead security guard. "Boys you know the drill get to it." Almost instantaneously, four clowns got up, went around the jewelry store, breaking the glass cases and taking whatever was of value, basically everything.

One clown went to the cash register, broke it open and stole what was in there. Joker walked to the security door at the back of the store he picked a laser pistol of a nearby dead security guard. He looked the weapon up and down it was a D-16 the latest version; he also took the electric night stick using the laser pistol he destroyed the security systems of the huge metal door and carved his way in. Joker stepped into the darkened store room and looked around. He spotted a painting on the wall. "Of all the old familiar places" he thought.

"Gimmi' me the damn gun" Andy said imperatively.

"Here!" responded Bobby, handing the mob boss his 'Thompson'. "Why do you need your gun if you just intend to ask Ramonova for a truce?"

"You know the Russians Bobby, how unreasonable they can be especially Ramonova" replied Andy.

"Quiet, both of you! You two talk so loudly the Rosales will hear us! You know they have spies' everywhere." said Dollface.

The young female mob enforcer exited the black van in which the mob had arrived in. Dollface was one of the most deadliest assassins in Gotham, the city's residents remembered that fateful night two years ago when Dollface made her debut in the murders Police had classified as the "Dollhouse Murders". Her face was always concealed by her recognizable mask, which was the image of a china doll, dark red lips stuck in a dead expression, reddish pink color ingrained on the upper area of the cheeks resembling blush make-up there was also red paint above the eyes/lenses much darker than on the cheeks. Above the nose which stuck out were two small black lenses. Several of the mob had wondered how Dollface was able to track down her prey so quickly. These were the implements she used. Inside of the mask was an HUD that was so sophisticated that it was considered the latest of its kind it connected with the lenses, so Dollface could track her prey with infra-red, Sonar, radar, etc. The mask covered her whole face so no one could see her true identity. No mobster had ever seen what she really looked like. Only man had looked upon her features, and that was Bobby Valentino.

Dollface's height was unusual for her age, which was 24, yet she stood 6'7. Although none of them had seen her face many of the mobsters lusted after Dollface's body, thin with attractive features. However many men had died in their attempts to even touch her. Dollface wore very revealing outfits, especially near Bobby, the only man she loved.

The assassin wore a short black skirt, which matched the tight black revealing top she wore. Her shoulders were bare; her arms were covered in long black fish netting. She wore a pair of black leather gloves that went with the leather boots she wore. She also sported black nylons. Dollface's jet-black hair flowed in the cold winter wind. The wind hit her, and the perfume she wore seemed to spread as if it were an aerosol. It hit both mobsters as she strode past them and ducked into the trunk, searching for the weapons she had brought with her.

The assassin emerged with a black glossy leather utility belt containing her assortment of various weapons she employed. The belt contained four grenades, a handgun, a butcher knife, two Sais, and extra ammunition for the gun. She strapped a vibro blade to her back; this implement looked like a regular katana but was actually electrified to do more damage. She picked up a laser SMG from the trunk. With that Bobby closed the trunk; cold air hit them through the open windows of the empty double Decker parking lot causing both Bobby and Andy to pull on over coats over the suits they wore. The air didn't Dollface although she was wearing a skimpy outfit she seemed immune to the weather and elements.

All three killers readied what weapons they did have when they saw a black limo pull into the parking lot followed by a silver Subaru. Dollface recognized the flags on the vehicles, the Russians had arrived. Andy the leader of the Gotham mob was about to ask the Russian mob boss for a truce. Andy walked towards the already waiting Russian mob boss Viktor Ramonova; the Russians stood behind their leader expressions of fear on their faces due to the fact Dollface was in their presence. They had feared Dollface since she had dispatched Alexi Sebastian Viktor's right hand man and assassin. Andy was inches away from Viktor he lit a cigarette and finally spoke

"Viktor you and I have been at war over this city for as long as I can remember." He took a drag of his cigarette "Now I'm callin' for a truce."

Viktor raised an eyebrow a hesitant look painted itself on his face, meanwhile the Russians behind him started talking amongst themselves in their own tongue, and their voices formed a quiet annoying orchestra it irked Dollface she wanted to throw a bomb in the middle of their group and watch them all go flying.

Viktor had apparently made up his mind, he held out his hand Andy and Viktor shook hands. "Together Andy," said Viktor "We can crush Manny Rosales and his privet mafia for good!" By this time the mobsters were done shaking hands, a wave of relief washed over the Russians with confirmations that they did not have to engage Dollface.

"Viktor as a token of my friendship I am going to give you the Greendale Apartment Complex on Gotham's lower East side" the two shook hands again.

With the mob no building or warehouse mattered it was the location that was important. Gotham's lower east side was now considered a powerhouse with the new power plant Wayne Enterprises had newly installed there. The plant itself was established there for nuclear medicine purposes a new method to try to cure cancer. However both the Russians and the Albanians had been feuding over this location for nearly five years, their bloody strife had resulted in many casualties on each side and billions of dollars in damage and vandalism. With the Greendale Apartments the Russians had a new foothold giving them the upper hand.

Everyone in the parking lot froze and the only sound to be heard was the cocking of guns. An immense shadow surged across the parking lot; suddenly a dark figure leapt into the crowd of confused Russians and started to fight them Dollface recognized her nemesis none other than Batman she grabbed Bobby by the arm and said

"You get the car, I'll handle the bat."

By this time Batman had knocked out all the Russians, Viktor already protecting his new ally pulled Andy into the limo and left. Batman moved out of the way as at least twenty laser bursts were fired in his direction, he turned to face his assailant; Dollface fired again yet missing the bat again. Batman threw a batterang at the assassin the crimson bat shaped razor flew at her, but she caught it and threw it back at him he maneuvered out the way before it hit him. This time Batman rushed at Dollface, suddenly before he got to her the assassin dropped her SMG and drew her vibro blade and swung it at him. This time the weapon did not miss, she slashed him in the shoulder Batman slid into the concrete ground, and pain surged through his body like a cancer and with the suit was electrified by the blade the pain was only increased. Under the mask Terry grunted in pain as he pushed himself up on all fours, the visual in his visor was messing up, suddenly Terry felt a sharp pain in his gut as he fell on his side.

Dollface had kicked Batman in the gut, Terry saw a blade at least a foot long sticking out of the assassin's boot. Dollface swung her vibro blade down upon Batman however he jumped up and leapt away just in time the assassin missed, she lightly tapped her heel on the ground and the blade retracted back into her boot. Terry got ready as Dollface ran at him, she once again brought the blade down upon him. Batman stopped the blade it was caught in his gauntlet in between the spikes, there battle of wills went on for about two minutes until Police sirens blared through the parking structure. Dollface suddenly pushed her blade forward, Terry not expecting this fell back onto the ground he got back up onto his feet. Dollface had sheathed her blade and retrieved her SMG where she had dropped it, she held the gun level aiming at him then she pulled some kind of remote from her belt.

The assassin pressed a button and Terry heard an explosion behind him he turned to see out one of the window that the front of a store had just been blown up and was inflames. He quickly turned back, Dollface was gone. Five cop vehicles pulled in to find a bunch of Russian mobsters knocked out on the ground Batman was gone to cops and a detective dressed in a suit dismounted

"What dya' make of this boss? Asked one cop gesturing to the Russians in his Brooklyn accent.

"Well the Commissioner told us to take in whatever the Batman left behind" replied the detective.

"Alrighty then com'on boys" ordered the cops other cops came out of their vehicles and started to handcuff the Russians.

Mathis Jewelers

Commissioner Barbra Gordon exited her car and stepped into the cop filled crime scene around a vandalized "Mathis Jewelers". The scene was bustling with activity CSI's were gathering evidence and jotting down notes one of them pulled a remote from a nearby gutter and deposited it in an evidence bag. About a few yards away cops were swatting away reporters and other observers.

"Haven't you ever heard of Freedom of the Press?" yelled a reporter.

"Oh yeah, I think I have it must have been that brief I fell asleep while reading" a cop replied smugly.

Their argument continued but Gordon ignored it she was looking at the vandalism that had been done to the store in front of her. Red HAHA's covered the walls and windows, the "J" in jewelers was hanging by its wires a red circle encompassed it. A small shiver ran down the elder woman's spine this handy work looked too familiar. Gordon stepped inside Police were leading traumatized looking individuals outside while a bomb squad was removing dynamite off of other people. Glass covered the floor where the cases had been smashed, Gordon made her way to the back of the store to the security door that looked as it had been carved into.

Gordon stepped into the dark security room, she was greeted by Lieutenant Hewlett,

"Ah, Commissioner thank goodness you're here"

"What is it you wanted me to see Lieutenant?"

"Here Ma'am" he said shining his flash light into a nearby wall safe.

The Commissioner nearly gasped at what she saw, inside the safe on a stand sat a joker card with a laughing jester head on it. She carefully removed the card from the stand and stared at it in disbelief. A familiar maniacal laugh was heard from outside along with the sound of tires screeching and gunshots. A voice was heard on Hewlett's radio:

"Come in Hewlett, this is Johnson I'm pursuing a suspect down Cunningham and Oh My God!" the voice trailed off as a the same familiar laugh was heard again but louder sending chills down Gordon's spine hearing the frightful sound from her past. Suddenly the sound of Johnson screaming, then a loud bang like an explosion was heard and then static.

Hewlett yelled into his radio "Johnson?... Johnson?!"

As if hearing what she had heard on the radio wasn't enough for the Commissioner, the sound of laughing, gunshots, and tires screeching came closer. Until the sound was replaced with cars crashing into one another and people yelling. Gordon looked out through the door way and something most horrifying, a purple and green 1956 Cadillac drove up on the sidewalk right next the entrance of the store. The car's driver side window rolled down, the driver stuck his head out the window revealing a too familiar face. Gordon stood there with stupefied look on her face as she stared at the Joker; the clown smiled and waved then went back into the car away from Gordon's view the window then rolled back up.

Hewlett looked at Gordon with a horrified expression on his face

"Our troubles just begun" Gordon said she looked down at the card in her hand "Apparently Theresa new clown in town."


	3. The Jokes on Them

The Jokes on Them

Bobby drove the black mob van down the darkened city streets frequently changing directions to avoid being followed. Gotham City itself was notorious for its dark streets and alley ways for that was where most atrocities were committed, people could not stay in Gotham without something happening to them. Ever since it had been founded and built Gotham City had lived up to its reputation as America's Capital of Crime and the local Police Force had just as good a reputation as the LAPD did in the 1920s. However there were those like Batman, who had tried their hardest to cleanse the City of Darkness from the crime that plagued and cultivated it. Then there were those menaces like the Joker, whose abominable acts had brought Gotham to the brink of destruction. Thus Gotham was considered a scar upon society, a cancer to America. The only things that kept Gotham from being toppled down were those who believed the city could be brought into the light and corrupt politicians who used the city and its residence to carry out their bidding getting political gain. Little did these two groups know that a storm was coming to Gotham, a storm of chaos and laughter.

"That was a close one Rose," said Bobby calling the young assassin by her true name. "You're lucky you split when ya' did the cops were right there"

Dollface removed her mask revealing one of the most beautiful faces in Gotham, neatly trimmed eyebrows and long lashes stood above striking blue eyes. Her face was thin due to her immense height though still a stunning enough to turn a gay man into a straight man, pale and mysterious yet to look upon it would make you cry just knowing that someone close to you might have seen this face in his or her last hour. However it would also make you beg the question how could someone so angelic looking do away with so many live so easily?

"I could have killed him you know?" she said.

"Oh really, the why didn't ya'?"

"As you said the Police were right there and frankly I didn't want to leave a bloody mess in the parking complex."

Her reply sent Bobby bursting into laughter "Since when do you not leave a bloody mess with all your victims?"

Bobby parked the van in a nearby dark alley; it was pitch black two tall buildings towered over the van blocking the moonlight. The ally was so dark that it looked like a rapist would take his next victim there, inside the van Rose's eyes had adjusted to the dark she could see Bobby's silhouette the shape of the man she loved. It was strange as Dollface, Rose could kill anyone in cold blood without feeling any shred of guilt, remorse or pity, however no assassin worth his or her salt would ever fall in love with anybody the way she had fallen for Bobby, then again she didn't really know whether it was love or just attraction. Rose was not one for relationships however she occasionally had flings with some of her victims of course she'd have to kill them once they found out what she did for a living. Presently Bobby was committed to another woman named Claire which only made Rose jealous. Meanwhile she and Bobby were waiting from a call from the Resistance within the Gotham Mob, Bobby himself was the leader.

The Resistance would have been the Mob's inner circle instead they refused and were plotting against Andrew Grissom AKA Andy. When Andy's father Carl Grissom was killed by the original Joker Andy took over and things just went downhill from there, the mob was out of control and the Resistance wanted to put an end to the madness they saw. The only way to end it they saw was to kill Andrew Grissom; yet killing Andy was like trying to kill Adolf Hitler every attempt no matter how ingenious or deadly failed.

Rose joined the Resistance for various personal reasons; her father Benjamin Hart was once a member mob's inner circle but was killed by Andy right in front of her; Andy then raped her mother Emily Hart. Rose's mother was completely traumatized from the event and had to be confined to Arkham Asylum indefinitely, after that Andy killed Rose's older brother Benjamin Hart Jr. the cop who was only trying to find his sister after she had gone missing. Rose had vowed to kill Andy herself, Andy had no knowledge of Emma's existence all he saw was a cold-blooded killer in a doll mask.

"_One day. One day! I'll kill the bastard, I will avenge my family. People in Gotham call me unhinged; they call my methods of killing my victims brutal and cold. Just they wait, when I kill Andrew Grissom I will show them carnage they've never imagined! I can just imagine their faces when they see the ground littered with body parts!"_

Bobby interrupted her private thoughts, "Rose we have a new ally to our cause of disbanding the mob"

"That's good, who is this new ally?" inquired Rose.

"Never really met him in person, just talked to him over the phone he goes by the alias 'Ace of Knaves'"

Bobby's cell phone rang; he answered it and put it on speaker the voice of Len Lesser another member of the Resistance came through, "Bobby, what happened out there tonight? Did our attempt work this time?"

"Sorry, Lenny another failed attempt, Andy seems to avoid the most simplest of things" replied Bobby.

This time Bobby had planned to put a fast-working poison in Andy's drink the one he was supposed to have before he went out to make a truce with the Russians. Since Andy had contacted Viktor Ramonova and told him where to meet him, Bobby had planned to poison him before he went out and Ramonova known for his impatience and vindictiveness would have his Mafia converge on the Gotham Mob and the Resistance would be long gone by then. Unfortunately Andy didn't have that drink.

"How many failures must we go through before we finally kill Grissom?" responded Len.

"Hopefully, not many tonight I am meeting with our new ally who says he can kill Grissom" said Bobby.

"Do you think this guy can really grease Andy Bobby?" asked Len.

"When I meet with him I'll ask him, for now let's just keep under cover I'll see ya' back at the Casino Len" with that Bobby hung up the cell phone.

Bobby started the van and drove out of the alley and back into the city streets.

"Having doubts about this new ally?" asked Rose.

"A few, after all you what happened to our last new ally?"

Rose nodded, remembering how their last ally had been killed. As Bobby drove down Cunningham Rose saw signs of a recent gunfight, red HAHAs were spray painted on the walls of nearby buildings, two dead cops lay on the sidewalk: one lying face down and another slumped against a wall a small yellow flag that read "BANG!" stuck out of his chest. Rose noticed something strange about these two cops they were smiling. Before Bobby turned onto the next street they passed by a police vehicle in flames.

The Batcave

Bruce Wayne hobbled down the stairs leading down into the Batcave below; with the help of his cane he was able to get down the stairs even better than anyone else his age. Ace his loyal Great Dane followed behind, by the time the two reached the bottom Bruce heard the sound of the garage door opening and the Batmoble landing. A minute later Terry came up the stairs leading down to the vehicles, he looked at Wayne the old man wore his usual black suit pants and a black blazer over a navy blue shirt.

"How did it go with the mob?" asked Bruce.

"Not well" replied Terry as he took off the Batman mask "I managed to leave a few Russians for the cops but Grissom and Ramonova got away."

"That's no surprise" Bruce stated flatly.

"Dollface was there as well" said Terry.

"That assassin seems to be everywhere now. No one's safe" responded Bruce as he turned and walked to the computer they used to hunt down criminals with Ace following close behind. Bruce sat down in his chair "No one will ever be safe in this city" he muttered.

Terry went into the backroom to change out of the Batman suit back to his regular attire, when he came back he found Bruce was reading the Police reports and headlines on Dollface. Terry read the captions to himself with disdain,

Party Thrown at Anya Estate Turns into Crime Scene Overnight! Rebecca Anya: Heiress to Anya Fortune Found Brutally Murdered! Over Sixty Found Dead at Anya Estate! Mysterious 6ft Woman Wielding Bloody Butcher knife and Wearing a Doll Mask Seen Fleeing the Scene! Three Survivors from Anya Estate Massacre Dead! Russian Assassin "Alexi Sebastian" found Dead! Dollface Strikes Again! Seven More Victims Claimed by Dollface Assassin! Ten People Found Dead at Gotham Inn! Gotham Inn Massacre Now Being Called The Dollhouse Murders! Batman Chases Dollface Assassin Through Gotham City After Major Confrontation!

Terry could not read anymore just reading those captions gave him feeling that he had failed. Being able to wear the mask of Batman and take on the mantle of the Dark Knight gave Terry a chance to do something good to make a difference in a city of crime, for that people called him the Tomorrow Knight it fit since these were the days of the future. Dollface was elusive and deadly whoever is under that mask needs serious help if Terry would ever catch her, she'd probably be thrown into Arkham Asylum. Bruce read the Police reports and the names of the victims, he shook his head.

"I know what you're thinking" said Terry "I should have kept my attention on her instead of trying to save her victims beforehand"

"No, you did the right thing" Bruce said turning to Terry "By trying to save her victims you spared more lives, maybe not all of them but some and that's what counts"

"But if I had tried to stop her instead of-" Terry was cut off by Bruce.

"Terry the only way you can catch this assassin is to aggravate her, make her come after you"

Suddenly a beeping sound erupted from the computer indicting Bruce had mail, Bruce accessed his inbox which was filled with mail from various workers and associates from Wayne Enterprises. He scrolled the mouse to the newest message which the ID read Commissioner Gordon, Bruce opened it and it said…

Dear Bruce, I need to speak to you and Terry on an urgent matter. Please come to my office 9:00 AM sharp.

"I guess I'll need to reschedule that meeting tomorrow" said Bruce.

Terry started put on his jacket he groaned in pain as his gut bruised from Dollface's knife slid under the jacket.

"Are you okay?" asked Bruce while getting out of his chair.

"I will be" Terry grunted "Dollface nearly gave me a fatal wound if it wasn't for that new body armor you added to the suit I'd have a gushing wound instead of a large bruise."

"That armor can stop a stop a bullet and a knife and it can also absorb laser fire, however I would advise you to run into a line of gunfire" replied Bruce.

"There is still no way I'm can explain these wounds to anyone else let alone Dana" said Terry as he picked his backpack containing the Batman suit.

"You won't have to explain to anybody as long as you keep what you do in secret to yourself"

"The secret is getting harder to keep Bruce; I'm surprised no one asks what I am really doing when I'm working for you" Terry replied as he looked down. He looked up again "I guess I should be going, I'm going to need to wake up extra early for that meeting." As he headed out Terry he said goodnight Bruce said the same as he shut down the computer.

Meanwhile in an alley near the Mob's Casino and Brothel, a young hitman strolled with a young, fine-looking prostitute he had brought out of the brothel.

"So Johnny, what else do you like" the young hooker asked seductively.

"Guns, fast cars, extortion and good sex, which I hope you can provide" said Johnny putting his arm around the young hooker's waist.

She giggled "I'll try my best"

The two stopped in front of a dark alley the prostitute stopped as she felt the hitman trying to take her through it, she breathed deep breaths and shivered in the cold.

"What's the matter tootz? You scared of dark alleys?"

"Uh… yeah" she replied nervously "I thought you said we were going to your place?"

"Well we are this is a short cut" he said pointing to the dark alley.

They were eventually on their way again, when they were half way through the alley there was a large dumpster a right next to it a bright colored box about half the size of the dumpster and covered with stars and clownish looking faces, and there was an iron lever attached to the side.

"Eh, this ain't never been here before" said Johnny as he reached down to inspect the strange box.

However before he could inspect the box the lever on the side started to turn on its own accord and the tune from _"Pop Goes the Weasel" _could be heard emanating from the box. Once the tune stopped, the box flipped open the lid hit the dumpster with a loud thud, a huge jester looking figure wielding a large axe sprang out but only its top half its bottom seemed t be still in the box. Suddenly the large axe was brought down upon the two onlookers the young hooker jumped away but it was too late for the hitman named Johnny. The prostitute turned to see the axe embedded right into Johnny's skull, she was just about to run screaming when suddenly a gloved hand came over her mouth restraining her. She watched in horror as two men in clown masks emerged from the darkness, came to the bloody mess a separated the axe from the hitman's head, after that they threw his body in the nearby dumpster. The jester that had sprung from the box went back inside automatically and the two clown men lifted the box and tuck it into the darkness from whence they came.

The young hooker squirmed and struggled against her captor as she saw more men in clown masks emerge from the surrounding darkness. It was then that her captor spoke to her, in a voice that sent chills down her spine it said…

"If you promise not to scream or run I'll let you live"

The hooker complied but was shocked as her captor threw her into the arms of one of the clownish goons. She nearly screamed when she took a look at her original captor, her face was an expression of fear she gulped as she took in the sight in front of her stood the Joker himself. The Joker let out a maniacal laugh as he threatened the hooker with a gun "Just kidding."

The Casino

Dollface and Bobby arrived at the Mob's Casino and Hotel that stood 10 stories high once called the _Grand Gotham Hotel & Casino _until Carl Grissom had made it territory of the Gotham Mob decades ago when the original Dark Knight along with his sidekicks Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl bravely defended Gotham City. Bobby parked the van it the parking lot, after exiting he walked to the other side and opened the door for Dollface. The assassin had put the mask back on just in case there were any mobsters in the parking lot,

"Thank you" she said to Bobby.

They walked towards the main entrance to the Casino or what Rose called the "House of the Pathetic" there Bobby opened the door for her again letting her in first. Once inside Bobby said,

"I don't think we'll be going anywhere else tonight so you can just have the rest of the night to yourself. I'll be waiting for our new ally"

"Alright, I'll be upstairs in my suite if you need me" replied Rose her voice a bit muffled behind her mask.

Bobby leaned in a bit closer, Rose felt herself getting hot under the mask; she could smell his cologne "Remember the meeting tomorrow 9:00AM my apartment, fifth floor, 5A." he whispered. She nodded, he whispered "Goodnight" before he walked away.

Rose shook her head _"He was right there you idiot!" _she mentally scolded herself. Rose walked into the Casino where the most of the pathetic excuses for human beings were. Trying to find at least one person in the entire building that had not been arrested or wanted by the cops or FBI was harder than trying to find a virgin in the mob's brothel which was just across the street from the Casino. The smell of liquor and drugs hung heavy in the air it mixed with the loud music blasting from speakers around the building it gave the Casino a homey look and tone in a Manson family kind of way.

About a yard away from her was the bar and behind the bar a large stage with poles and strippers danced on them. Rose navigated her way to the elevator and passed by the most pathetic excuses for mobsters let alone human beings it was hard to believe they were in the mob's inner circle Ricky Vasquez and Alex Kennimore sat at their own private table with their personal body guards: Angel Bravo and Jesse (No one knew his last name and frankly no one wanted to. The man was such an annoyance that no one wanted anything to do with him.)

Once in the elevator Rose pushed the button for the seventh floor, she exited the elevator it was strange how the first two floors including the ground level were the Casino yet the remaining eight were all rooms, apartments and suites. She walked to her suite 7H, Rose remembered when he had first taken her in Bobby had made sure she had the best living arrangements possible a nice a nice presidential suit is what she got. After getting in she removed her mask and carried it to her bedside table on a nearby dresser there was a thick manila folder that was labeled "Gotham City Police: Confidential: Missing Persons Report: Rose Hart".

Rose picked up the folder, carried it to a nearby coffee table and sat down on the leather sofa next to it. She open the folder she saw an old picture of herself before she had become the cold-blooded killer she was today, she was younger then she had red hair as well before that it had been blond she finally dyed it jet black to prevent the public from recognizing her, she read the facts on the report:

Name: Rose Sierra Hart

Date of Birth: July 15th 2026

Age: 16

Sex: Female

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Red

Ethnicity: White/Caucasian

Criminal Record: None

Known Relatives: Benjamin Hart (Father): Deceased, Emily Hart (Mother): Status Unknown, Benjamin Hart Jr. (Older Sibling)

Last Know Location(s): Gotham City

Day of Disappearance: April 6th 2042

Case Status: Cold

Rose turned to the notes section of the report where her brother had typed down his notes on the investigation,

Day One: I finally got permission from the Commissioner to open this investigation; I vowed to Rose one day that I'd always be there for her I do not intend to break that promise.

Day Two: I have searched all of Rose's favorite places from Restaurants to Shopping Stores, still no sign of her. I don't care how long it takes or who gets in my way I Will find Rose!

Rose skipped to the three most important entries,

Day Six: I'm stressed to the brink, one agonizing week and still nothing, everyone tells me to give up hope that my little sister is most likely dead; My Mom was just confined to Arkham Asylum. My girlfriend Patricia just broke up with me all I have left is Rose.

Day Ten: I'm on my own now everyone on the force including Gordon is tied up with this new Dollface assassin Still I press on to find Rose.

Day Sixteen: I was suspended from active from active duty today after a fight between me and a fellow officer that was angry at me for not aiding in the Dollface investigation erupted. Although I may be suspended from the job I'm not from life I continue the search for Rose by any means necessary.

Rose shut the file, the angrily threw it across the room after kicking the coffee table she mentally scolded herself _"Damn you why didn't just let Ben Find you? He could have helped you! You wouldn't be in this mess right now!" _Rose looked down as she felt tears begin to fall from her eyes.

Meanwhile in his apartment Bobby poured himself a drink in front of him was a dark window, he finished pouring his glass when the refection of light filled the dark window before him. Someone was using the secret doorway to his room,

"Is that you honey?" Bobby asked expecting to hear his girlfriend Claire answer back. He couldn't see much of the figure who had just came in he turned to see a very tall man even taller than Dollface, he had to at least be seven feet tall his broad shoulders made him appear to be even bigger than he really was. He wore a top hat that's all Bobby was able to figure out since he was standing in the light he could not make out the man that stood before him "Who are you?" he asked.

The secret door closed "It's me 'honey'" the man said in a mocking tone.

Bobby could see the man a little better now, he seemed to be light-complected and it looked as if he were smiling.

"Ace of Knaves?" asked Bobby

"That's my alias don't wear it out" replied the man as he stepped a bit closer. "Is this the Resistance Residence?" asked the man.

Bobby hesitated before answering there was something strangely familiar about the man's voice "Um yes. Hello I'm Bobby Valentino" he said as he held out his hand to shake.

The man stepped out of the darkness and when Bobby saw who this person looked like he nearly jumped out of his skin with surprise for the man who stood before him was the Joker.

"What's the matter Bob? You look as if you've see a ghost" The clown chuckled.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" asked Bobby.

"Me, dead? Oh perhaps you're referring to daddy dearest. I miss that old man" replied the Joker as he sat down in a nearby chair.

"Wait a minute are you saying you are the Joker's son?"

"Exactly why do you ask Bob?" his stuck grin seemed to expand as if it were showing his interest in the subject.

"Well" said Bobby "I could never imagine that freak getting close to a woman in a million years. Wait a minute there was a jester girl I believe her name was Harley Quinn"

"You guessed it Bob. Oh mommy was always so caring, so entertaining," "So gullible" his tone changed "A shame I never really got to know her or daddy either. I was always in the care of Uncle Riddles or Aunt Ivy." Joker looked at Bobby "You may know them as Riddler and Poison Ivy."

"Your kidding me right? The Riddler and Poison Ivy?" asked Bobby.

"No, no I was just with them so much that I began to call them that." Said the Joker, he looked at Bobby "I mean it would just sound weird if I called them Aunt Riddles and Uncle Ivy" he laughed.

Bobby shook his head "What do you want" he demanded "And don't say you're here to help I know for certain you're not."

"Oh, and what makes you say that?" asked the clown.

"If your anything like your father you won't help at all" answered Bobby.

The Joker laughed "Listen Bob, the mob's in my way of what I want, Grissom is in my way. Now you and I both want the best for Gotham City"

"_Yeah right" _thought Bobby.

The Joker continued "Now if you and I work together, we can get rid of Grissom and his inner circle"

"You promise you'll help us?"

"I am a man of my word" the Joker said bursting into laughter.

He stopped laughing when Bobby's girlfriend Clair walked into the room "Evening honey" said Clair she suddenly gasped as she laid eyes on Bobby's other guest.

"Yeah I get that a lot" the Joker laughed. The clown strode forward towards Clair who backed away a bit. "Hello there beautiful" he said tipping his hat to Clair, he then held out his purple gloved hand for her to shake.

"No! Clair don't shake his hand!" yelled Bobby as he ran towards the two; he grabbed the clown's hand turned it over revealing a joy buzzer.

Joker pulled his hand away putting the device in his blazer pocket then looked at Clair "Sorry, old habits die hard I guess" he grinned "No hard feelings right?"

Clarice never got to answer that question as Bobby interjected "Clair Honey, why don't go wait in the next room?" he looked at the Joker "our guest was just leaving"

Clair walked away, "Nice squeeze you got there" said the Joker to Bobby just loud enough for her to hear a few feet away a shiver ran down Claire's neck, she hurried into the room and shut the door "A bit shy but still good-looking" Joker added and then laughed.

"Listen, this room tomorrow morning at nine" said Bobby.

"You got it Bob" replied the clown.

"Did you say you wanted something in return?" asked Bobby.

"You'll find out in due time" said the Joker as he walked out the door.

Rose awoke suddenly; she had fallen asleep on the leather sofa. She got up and heard the sound of talking outside. Rose grabbed her sniper rifle and head towered the window and opened the window and saw two men at the street corner talking loudly. _"You'll pay for waking me up" _she thought as she put on her mask so not to bother with adjusting the scope on the sniper. Their deaths would be blamed on one of the mobsters in the Casino, just as she was focusing her aim on them they suddenly ran into a nearby building out her sight she sighed and lowered the rifle.

Suddenly an arm snaked its way around her waist, another grabbed her wrists a leg was intertwined around hers to keep them from moving. Her mask was taken off "Well hello, beautiful" said her assailant with a bone chilling voice and a minute later she was face to face with him. His face was one she had only seen in pictures and old newspapers, the face of the legendary Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker himself. Rose said nothing but stared and as she gazed her knees became somewhat weak, her face became hot for some odd reason she found this man attractive, she took in his scent: cheap cologne and gunpowder. The clown suddenly pulled out a knife and traced the contours of her face with it careful not to cut her with it. The knife slipped down her chin,

"Tell me something, why does someone so beautiful hide her face with a mask? Hmm?" he asked.

He continued to look her up and down a mixture of feelings went through her mind; half of her actually seemed afraid he the clown might rape her or worse kill her. The other half which Rose assumed was her physical side actually craved the attention and wondered where this might lead.

"Nice legs" said the Joker.

"What do you want?" Rose replied in a demanding tone.

The Joker released Rose letting her fall to the ground and standing up to his full height. In her current position the Joker towered over Rose she took a good look his violet suit was perfectly tailored making him look better than the trash down stairs in the Casino. For some odd reason she found the clown attractive in a creepy way. The Joker held out a purple gloved hand, instead of taking it Rose retrieved her mask on the floor and helped herself up off the floor.

"Smart girl" said the Joker turning in palm to her and revealing a joy buzzer. The turned away from her and walked to the side of the room where Rose had thrown the stolen Police Report, he picked it up and started to look through it.

"You know, Dollface I've had my eye on you for a while" he closed the file and put it down on a nearby desk, he then turned back to her. "I love to view your work the skulls, the bodies. You give them such a glow, a fitting tribute to your victims. I mean, I wouldn't call it art but I like it" he chuckled.

"Flattery will get you nowhere. Mr. Joker, just tell me what you want" replied Rose.

"Excuse me, Mr. Joker is my father" stated the clown.

"You mean to tell me that you are the son of the legendary Joker?" asked Rose.

"Yes I am" replied the clown. He continued on "Now I see that you and I are two of a kind, me the homicidal maniac and you a cold-blooded killer both freaks."

"What's your point?" asked Rose.

The Joker walked forward "We should be working together you and I."

"If this is some pick-up attempt it's not going to work. I heard about the partnership your father had with Harley Quinn, and frankly I don't want to be playing second fiddle like she did" interjected Rose.

"You won't" stated the clown as he turned away from her "And mark my words your opinion will soon change when I control this pathetic city!" laughed the Joker. He gave her a face down playing card she turned it over to reveal a laughing jester in some sort of aerobic position it certainly did not look humanly possible. "I suggest you keep that. We will be seeing each other very, very soon" he chuckled as he left the Rose's suite.

The Joker got into the elevator and punched the button for the ground floor, once there he made his way to the exit.

The mobster Alex Kennimore stood in front of the door and blocked his way "Pay up" he said

Joker looked at the scrawny figure before him, his face was bruised all over just like the face of his body guard Jesse probably because the two had one thing in common an big annoying mouth.

"Aw, that's cute your wearing make-up is that for your boyfriend?" said Kennimore in a mock tone.

Joker despised Kennimore the one mobster who spat out that everyone with the exception of himself was either gay or lesbian (depending on whether they were male or female). The Joker would enjoy killing him.

"Sure thing" said the Joker as he got out a wallet "How much did you say you wanted?"

"Ten thousand. Cash."

"While you asked for it" chuckled Joker as flipped open the wallet and a knife on a spring flew out of it. The knife pierced Kennimore in the neck; Joker tugged the spring a bit to extract the knife and Kennimore choked and held his already bloody neck as he fell to the ground.

The Joker then heard footsteps behind him and the sound of a gun cocking, The Joker suddenly turned around to face Kennimore's body guard Jessie; a rather large gun in his hand which he seemed to pull out of nowhere. Joker pulled the trigger once and a yellow flag with the word "BANG!" on it emerged from the barrel. Jessie aimed his gun at the clown, but before he could shoot Joker pulled the trigger once again and the flag flew out of the gun hitting Jessie in the chest. Jessie cried out in pain and fell to the ground, he lay dead on the ground with the flag sticking out of his chest as if it were a marker to all those who saw it telling them that Joker killed this man . All the mobsters that had heard or seen who had just been shot turned to look with stupefied expressions on their faces, Joker smiled and waved as he exited the Casino.

All the mobsters went back to their business at a nearby poker table one mobster said to another "Ya' know they say that clowns a menace, well after what I just saw now I'd say he's a hero." "Hear, hear" agreed another mobster "Justice has been served!" declared another.

Meanwhile at the table Alex Kennimore had been sitting at Riki Vasquez pulled out his gun and ran out of the Casino after the homicidal maniac who had just killed his friends, little did he know he would not be coming back.

Already back at his hideout Joker laughed out loud "All of them are doomed" he laughed. "Resistance to take down the Mob… Pathetic!" "The Jokes on them!" he laughed more loudly "Once they realize I've used them from the very beginning to get what I want. It will be too late! Even that assassin has fallen under my spell she's just too stubborn to admit it!" "She's got the hot's for me I just know it" he snickered. Joker thought of the assassin Dollface AKA Rose Hart, like his father before him Joker Jr. had always had a soft spot cold-blooded killers especially the beautiful but deadly ones. Although he had to admit behind the doll mask, cold-blooded methods of killing and guns Rose Hart was just a little girl crying for mommy, daddy and big brother. "It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic" laughed the Joker.

"In the end it will be just me, her and Gotham. There is only one man who can stop me well… more of a birdman" he laughed. "Although soon enough even Batman won't be able to stop me! My debut into the public of Gotham City is going to set the whole town on fire!" he laughed.


	4. The Mime of Mayhem

The Mime of Mayhem

Bobby sat in Andrew Grissom's VIP suite; Andy was late for his meeting with the inner circle of the mob. Bobby looked around. All the Inner Circle members were there minus Alex Kennimore, about which the news had been spread like wild fire that he and his bodyguard were killed by the Joker. To Bobby's right and left sat Winston Monroe, Leo Finn, Vinnie Ricorso and Gino Fish, and the two Bravo brothers, Jose and Angel, all the hard-hitters of the Gotham Mob. Bobby had retained his cover as one of the Mob's Inner Circle until now. He was sure that he'd be able to walk away from the life of a mobster. He loved Claire, and he wanted to be with her. Bobby did not know what would become of Rose. He also had doubts about his supposed new "ally," the son of the Joker, who seemed to be following in his father's footsteps. Would this new Joker help the Resistance get rid of Andy and the mob? The clown's words sounded through his head again as if he were right there whispering to him, "I am a man of my word." Uncertainty and fear flowed through Bobby as Joker's maniacal laugh filled his head.

Andy came in, followed by his personal body guards, Viktor Ramanova and a young Russian prostitute named Natasha, most likely a gift from the Russian crime lord. Andy told the young woman to go wait in his private room. He pulled out a chair for Ramanova before sitting down himself. The three bodyguards situated themselves around the room, guarding all the exits.

"Where's Ricki and Alex?" questioned Andy.

"Alex is dead…killed by the Joker. And Ricki went after the clown…probably dead by now," confirmed Gino Fish, who had witnessed the clown dispatch the mobster.

"The Joker?" asked Andy in a confused tone. "You're kidding, right? That maniac's been dead for years now."

"Apparently not," interjected Winston Monroe.

Andy looked down. "Damn it!" he cursed, pounding his fist on his desk.

"Don't worry 'bout it, boss. If ya' think about it, the clown did us a favor by killin' Kennimore. We both know that guy was bad for business. With him gone, we can run this city much easier now," stated Leo Finn.

"Look, I know he was stupid, but he was going to supervise the exchange tomorrow night at Harper's Still Mill," replied Andy.

Viktor Ramanova interjected. "Comrade Grissom, calm yourself; perhaps my mafia and I can be of assistance? Please do tell me what is this exchange you have going is?"

"Well, I've made contact with James Falconey in Gotham's lower west side. He said that he'll give me his shipment of stolen nuclear materials if I gave him forty billion dollars. Now I got no one to supervise the exchange and watch out for the cops or FBI," complained Andy.

"Don't worry, Comrade Grissom; I'll supervise this trade for you. Remember that we are allies now?" answered Ramanova.

"Thanks Vik, but I'm not lettin' you go unprotected," Andy said. He then looked over at the Bravo Brothers. "Jose, Angel, I want you two there along with Viktor. And know this: if somethin' happens to him, it'll be on your heads. You three," he pointed to his three bodyguards "you're goin' as well."

The three henchmen knew better than to question their master. The Bravo Brothers left the room.

"This meeting's over," said Andy, standing up.

With that said, the Inner Circle members left the room. Andy had two of his personal bodyguards escort Viktor Ramanova out of the room.

"Goodnight, Comrade Grissom," said Viktor.

"Thanks for the gift, Vik," replied Andy.

Viktor stopped in the doorway. "Have fun with her; she's all yours now." He laughed as he exited.

Andy chuckled in response as he rose from his chair and walked over to the door to his private room.

"Boss, I need to make a phone call. Do you mind if I use the patio?" asked the third henchman, who had not left to escort Viktor Ramanova.

"Okay, make it quick," replied Andy as he stepped into his private room, closing the door behind him.

The bodyguard ran out onto the balcony, which Andrew Grissom had set up as a patio. The guard retrieved a cell phone from his pocket, dialed a certain number on it, and then put it to his ear.

"Hello? Yeah, this is Agent Ramirez for Agent Watkins."

A voice replied, "This is he. Jonathan, is that you?"

"Yeah, Fred, it's me. Listen, the deal for the nuclear materials between Grissom and Falconey at Harper's Still Mill is still on. It's just that Viktor Ramanova and the Bravo Brothers are going to be there representing Grissom."

"Ramanova? Well, it looks as if our Intel was correct; the Russians have allied with Grissom. Very well, thanks for your help, Jon. Maybe we can finally put Grissom and Ramonova away for good. I'll have men stationed there tomorrow night. You give the signal when you're ready for us to infiltrate."

"Agent Ramirez, your job isn't done yet. We need you to get in there and record everything that happens. You still have the surveillance equipment, right?" another voice interjected.

"Yes sir, I'll get the job done," guaranteed the undercover bodyguard.

"Good luck."

The man hung up the cell phone.

9:07 a.m. the next day.

Commissioner Gordon sat at her office desk. Terry and Bruce still had not arrived yet. As usual they were running a little late; after all, traffic plagued Gotham City's streets. Meanwhile, she stared at the crime scene bag in front of her, which contained the Joker card. Seeing both the card and the clown's face last night took her mind back to the past: images of herself dressed as Batgirl standing beside Bruce and Tim, fighting Gotham's most dangerous criminals. Gordon remembered when the Joker had started his insane reign of crime in Gotham City. Then came his protégé and lover, Harley Quinn. The Joker had haunted all three former heroes; his disturbed laughter seemed to pierce their souls, and the unforgiving atrocities he committed left a permanent scar upon Gotham City.

The sound of the intercom startled Gordon; she pushed the button and spoke into the device.

"Yes, Wendy, what is it?"

"Sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but your nine' o clock is here."

"Good, send them in please," responded Gordon.

Her office door opened; Bruce and Terry walked in. She rose from her chair; they both greeted her in their formal way.

"Good morning, Barbra," greeted Bruce.

"Morning, Comish," greeted Terry, using his nickname for her.

"Good morning, Bruce, Terry," she replied. "Please have a seat."

Terry pulled out a chair for Bruce before getting one for himself.

"What did you need to see us for?" asked Bruce.

An expression of worry suddenly covered Gordon's face as she did not know how Bruce and Terry might take the news about the Joker.

"As you know, _Mathis Jewelers_ was robbed last night," she said.

"Let me guess?" asked Terry. "You didn't catch the culprit, and you need me to go after 'em right?" he said in a cocky tone.

"I pray it does not come down to you having to go after him," replied Gordon, knowing deep in her mind what the Joker was capable of.

Ever since Terry had assumed the mantle of Batman, Gordon had prayed that he would never encounter an enemy as merciless as the Joker, although Terry once faced the Joker when he had taken over the body of Tim Drake with the help of a control device implanted in his brain. However, that still did not compare to the brutal methods of the real Clown Prince of Crime.

"Barbra?" Bruce said in a puzzled tone.

Terry had same look of confusion on his face,

Barbra handed the crime scene bag containing the Joker card within it. "This was found at the scene of the crime." Barbra also told the tale of how she had seen the Joker herself last night.

Bruce gazed down at the card in disbelief. Terry got up and paced the office; he stopped and looked at both Bruce and Gordon.

"So the real question is, is this new Joker another drone, or is he for real?" he asked.

It looked as if Gordon were going to respond to Terry's question when suddenly the sound of automatic and laser gunfire was heard outside; as if that weren't enough, a familiar maniacal laugh was heard immediately after. All there quickly ran to the massive window in Gordon's office. They were stunned by the sight they saw on the courthouse steps below. There stood the Joker in a black suit with a matching top hat. On the ground surrounding him were at least ten dead bodies; at the edge of the steps to the court house was a large group of people, most of whom wore black while some sported clown masks. Citizens scattered all over the street. Some stood and watched the legendary clown in action.

"Hello, Gotham! There's a new Joker in town!" the Joker yelled before bursting into laughter again.

Gordon ran to her desk, picked up a radio, and yelled into it: "This is Commissioner Gordon; send a… SWAT team to the courthouse on the double!" She then went to rejoin Bruce and Terry at the window; however, not before Terry yelled, "Get back!" He and Bruce both ran towards her.

Gordon followed both men towards her office door. She turned her head suddenly when she heard a familiar sound of a bazooka and a rocket soaring through the air. A second later she saw the rocket emerge, and she followed Bruce and Terry through her office door; once the door was closed, they heard the rocket hit the building. The ground the three stood on shook for a moment, then stopped. Gordon opened her office door to observe the damage. Black smoke came out from the office. Gordon quickly shut the door; she turned towards her secretary who appeared startled from what had just transpired.

"Wendy, call the fire department!" commanded Gordon.

"Yes, ma'am," replied the young secretary as he quickly picked up the phone.

Gordon turned to Bruce and Terry; Bruce was the first to speak: "Real or fake, this new Joker is already starting to pose a serious threat."

"Agreed," said Terry.

"You will have the full support of the Gotham Police Force and myself," said Gordon.

6:00 a.m.

Rose awoke. As she lay in her king-sized bed, she turned to look at her alarm clock. The digital numbers read 6:00. She shook her head. As always she awoke at that time. What bothered her was the fact that no matter what she tried, she could not get back to sleep.

"_Three hours to kill before I have to go to the Resistance meeting. What am I going to do until then? Get ready; find an outfit that will make Bobby's head turn." _Rose shook her head. _"It's hopeless. I'll never get his attention. However, there is another…" _she thought.

"_I've had my eye on you for a while." T_he Joker's words went through her mind.

Rose shook her head to clear it; however, the clown's bone-chilling voice repeated itself in her mind as if he were actually there talking to her. _"Your opinion will soon change when I have control over this pathetic city!" _

"_What did he mean by that?" _Rose thought as she rose out of bed.

8:30 a.m.

By this time, Rose had showered and was dressed. She wore a black blazer over a dark blue blouse and a black skirt that went down to her knees that also matched with the blazer. Rose looked at herself in the mirror; she stood at an unusual 6' feet. Most women her age only reached 5'4" to 5'6". Both Rose and her older brother had inherited their father's height; she slipped into her black, glossy leather boots, which made her look taller—about 6'7" feet high. Rose wore the boots for two reasons: they allowed her to run ten times faster than any normal human being; they also added to her height—another quality the garbage in the casino was intimidated by…besides her menacing look. Before she left her room, she affixed her mask.

8:47 a.m.

Due to the fact that one of the elevators had broken down, Rose had to make a detour through the casino to use the other elevator. She was just crossing the casino floor, ignoring the usual stares from the hopeful gamblers. A few feet away from her, there was an outburst. Two hitmen were in a heated argument over a young prostitute.

"Well, it's my turn! You had her all last night!" one of them yelled.

"She promised me something right now!" replied the other one.

"Well, look boys. I can only do one of you right now. If the other wouldn't mind waiting?" suggested the hooker.

"Shut up, whore!" yelled one of the men.

The girl looked bemused as the two men continued to fight over her. Rose rolled her eyes under the mask as she overheard them. She took her pistol out and shot the two men dead. The hooker's expression as well as all the men standing near turned to fear. So accustomed to death, some of them instantly went back to their business. The young prostitute gulped as she gazed at Dollface. Rose gestured to the front door and said, "Go." The hooker stepped over the dead bodies and headed to the door, relief washing over her. Before leaving she turned to Dollface and said, "Thank you. You know you're not really as bad as they say."

Rose tossed her the handgun. "You know how to use it, right?"

"Yes, thank you once again."

Before continuing on her way, Rose saw that the girl made it back to the brothel across the street.

8:50 a.m.

Hidden in the darkness of Bobby Valentino's room, the Joker watched the members of the Resistance arrive. First came Len Lesser, whose name befitted him, for he was a lesser mobster. Next came Zelenka, the Russian mobster, who had defected just to join the Resistance. He was followed by Jack Montaigne, the insane British mobster who was often called a modern-day Baby Face Nelson. Eric Wolf, the only African American mobster of the group, arrived as well. Once all the Resistance members were seated, Claire brought in refreshments. Bobby stood at the door waiting for Dollface; the assassin finally arrived.

"_Ahhhh, finally! My girl arrived safely," _the Joker mentally rejoiced.

Dollface opened the Resistance's weapon stash, took out a handgun and put it in the empty holster at her side.

"Rose, again?" asked Bobby. "You do know we don't have an unlimited source of weapons right?"

Dollface looked at Bobby. "I'm sorry, Bobby, let's just say I know what it feels like to be fought over." She continued on her way to the table.

"You know the 'Women's Lib' would have loved you?" stated Bobby from which he received no reply.

When she came near the table, all the men sitting stood; they only sat down when Dollface had seated herself. Bobby stayed standing to address everyone in the room.

"Good morning, gentlemen." He turned toward Dollface. "Ladies…" This made Rose blush under her mask. He then turned his attention to all of them. "I have no need to tell you all that our attempt to kill Grissom last night. However, I have recently met with our newest ally, and he and I have formulated a plan to put Grissom of our misery for good."

"Would you care to enlighten us of this plan, Bobby?" asked Zelenka.

"Yes, the plan is with our new ally's help, we will kill all the Inner Circle Members, working our way up to Grissom.

Eric Wolf spoke next. "A bold move, Bobby, yet flawed in many ways. How do you know Grissom won't just replace those Inner Circle Members? Or even if he doesn't, how do we get to him? He is, after all, the most protected man in Gotham City."

"Well, you see, that's where I come in," responded an uninvited voice.

Jack Montaigne stood up; a chill ran down Rose's spine, and goose bumps took their place on her skin as she turned to see the Joker emerge from the darkness surrounding the table. The clown wore his usual bloody grin, and his presence in the room seemed to send a chill through the hardened killers occupying it.

"You're him, aren't you?" asked Jack Montaigne. "The Harlequin of Hate, the Laughing Leper? Nice suit." The Joker wore a black suit with a white carnation on the lapel. Montaigne, who wore black all the time, naturally said this to anyone wearing the same color. "I don't know about the face, though?" continued Jack.

"Joker, you are cold-blooded psychopath. How do you know we can trust you?" asked Zelenka.

"Well, I thought you'd say that, so I brought with me a token of my loyalty," the Joker replied, his stuck grin widening by the second.

The clown turned his back to them, reached into the darkness, and pulled out the lifeless body of Riki Vasquez. "Ta Da!" he declared aloud as he presented the body, which sported a grin that looked as if it had been forced. The Joker looked over the shoulder of the body, let out a laugh, and then threw the body towards the open window. The body went right out.

The Joker turned back to the disturbed Resistance members; he took a seat in the chair nearest Dollface, who scootched her chair away a few inches from the clown. A voice in her head was protesting this maneuver. For some reason, Rose found herself oddly attracted to the freak.

"Well, I'm convinced," said Jack, taking his seat.

"How do we know you will actually help us when in the past those who allied themselves with your father wound up dead?" Rose asked trying not to sound nervous.

Another chill ran down Rose's spine as the Joker turned his full attention on her.

"_Pull yourself together!" _Rose mentally scolded herself.

Rose was glad that she wore her mask that hid her now worried expression. She struggled to keep a straight face near the clown, a difficult action. However, it was as if the Joker could see right through the mask. He grinned as he looked her up and down, sensing her fear.

"Why my cold-blooded and quite lovely friend," Joker began, licking his lips, "as I explained to Bob last night," he said gesturing to Bobby, "I'm a man of my word."

"Why would you want to help us?" questioned Len Lesser.

The Joker turned towards the man. "Grissom is in my way," he answered.

"In your way?" asked Len.

The Joker did not respond; instead he turned his attention to Bobby. "Well, Bob, we better get started." He chuckled, tossing a newspaper towards Bobby.

Bobby looked the newspaper over and spoke. "Yes, as some of you know already, Winston Monroe had a court date this morning." He looked at his watch. "He should be coming out any time now," said Bobby as the Joker stood up.

"So Monroe is the first one we kill?" asked Len.

"Correct," said Bobby.

"Oh, and we'll need to kill his henchmen as well," said the Joker.

"Why?" asked Bobby.

"There must be no witnesses who can report to Grissom," replied the clown.

The Joker exited the elevator into the parking structure, holding all the mob's vehicles. The Resistance members followed the Joker to a white van surrounded by men in clown masks.

"Everyone meet at the courthouse," ordered Bobby, "and once we are done there, we meet back here."

Jack Montaigne, Zelenka and Eric Wolf boarded an unmarked van and left the garage. Bobby and Len boarded the gray van. Dollface was about to board when she noticed what the Joker and his men were doing. They had arrived in a purple van with a laughing jester decal on the side. There were eleven men in all, wearing clown masks with different expressions. There was one woman who also wore a clown mask. Although Rose could not see her face, she could tell the woman must be in her late teens.

Rose turned her attention to the Joker, who stood talking to two other clowns; one wore a long gray trench coat, black leather shoes and gray trousers. He also sported long black hair that went down to his shoulders, with green streaks. At first, due to his long hair, Rose thought he was another woman until she heard his thick Australian accent. His clown mask featured black circled eyes and a long red smile that went from ear to ear. The second clown seemed to stand 5'9"; however, his bulky form made him look taller. Muscles bulged through the leather jacket he wore over a black shirt and black pants and shoes; his mask sported a confused expression.

"Sorry, Jokes," the clown in the trench coat spoke as he handed the Joker a folded newspaper. "She's struck again."

The Joker looked at the paper. From her vantage point, Rose had no view of it. The Joker folded the paper and put it under his black suit coat. He looked at the two clowns in front of him and spoke.

"She's a smart one," he said while turning his back to them. He suddenly turned back saying, "But she's not smart enough." The clown in the trench coat jumped as the Joker turned to face him unexpectedly. "She does not know my next move, gentlemen. We are in the clear." The Joker looked at the clown in the leather jacket. "Joe, is my lady ready?" he asked.

"Yes sir," said the leather jacket clown Joe, who held out a large bazooka to the Joker.

"Excellent," replied the Joker. "Why don't you hold it for me?" he suggested.

The Joker departed from the two clowns and went to join the others "Alright, kids," he exclaimed, getting his men's attention. "Into Uncle J's van. We don't want to be late for Mister Monroe. Remember, we all have a present to give him," he said before bursting into insane laughter. His clowns laughed along with him as they boarded the violet orchid.

Bobby and Len left, and Rose cursed under her breath that she had been distracted by the Joker and his clowns instead of boarding the only safe vehicle in Gotham City. The Joker whistled at Rose, catching her attention. She looked to see him standing by the open van door, beckoning to the empty passenger seat.

"Saved the best seat for you," he yelled. "Come on, beautiful," he chuckled. "We haven't got all day. I've got people to kill, buildings to blow up, and a bat to torture. So come on, let's go," he said, patting the seat.

Under the mask, Rose rolled her eyes as she walked towards the open door and boarded the vehicle.

"Don't worry, me and the boys don't bite…unless you want us to;" the Joker laughed before closing the door and walking away.

Rose looked to her left at the driver's seat in which sat another clown; the van contained the fresh aromas of fast food, cologne, and gun powder. Restaurant To-Go bags dotted the floor of the van while the sound of guns cocking filled the air. Rose looked back to see all eleven men and the one woman. The clown that wore the trench coat noticed her and held out his gloved hand for her to shake.

"Hello there," he said in an Australian accent as they shook. "My name is Nigel Bellows. You must be Dollface. It is truly an honor to meet you." Their hands separated.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Bellows," she replied.

"Please call me Nigel."

"May I ask you a personal question, Nigel?"

"Anything, ma'am."

"Why do you work for that… psychopath?"

"Trust me, the job may seem unpalatable, but it does have its up side. Not to be rude, ma'am, but don't be callin' the kettle black just yet. Look at what you do for a living. However, I am sure there is probably a logical reason to what you do…unlike the Joker, who seems to do what he does for the thrills."

"You're right, there is a—" Rose was interrupted as the driver's seat door opened, revealing the Joker.

"What is it, Boss?" asked the clown currently occupying the driver's seat.

"Excuse me," replied the Joker as he grabbed the clown and threw him out of the seat. "But I wanna drive."

The clown jumped back up and re-boarded the van via the back seat door. Joker reached under his seat, retrieved a P90, and handed it to Dollface. Rose looked the weapon up and down; it was military issue. No need to bother asking Joker where he acquired it. He must have raided a military base. The weapon was modified so it was laser instead of automatic. This meant the weapon would do more damage and had unlimited ammunition.

"Thank you," said Rose, surprised she was actually thanking the psycho.

"Ohhhh! Does Dolly like her new toy?" asked the Joker as he started the van to exit the parking structure.

"Don't start with the pet names," replied Dollface.

"Don't be so sensitive, Baby Doll," replied Joker.

Rose sighed. She knew he would be calling her that now, and there was nothing she could do about it. Joker drove the van through the city streets. The sky was overcast and looked as if it were about to rain or even snow; it was cold enough. As they drove, Joker would randomly honk or just bump into people. And if there was any puddle of any kind, Joker made sure to hit full force to splatter any passersby. Joker reached across Dollface's lap, took a small cloth bag from the glove box, opened it, and placed it in the cup holder. The bag was filled with rocks that the Joker proceeded to chuck out the window at various cars. Each time the Joker burst into laughter as cars swerved behind them, creating pile ups and roadblocks. Joker threw the empty cloth at Nigel Bellows.

"You'll need to collect more for me," he said to his henchman.

Joker finally pulled up to the courthouse, where a group of reporters was huddled at the doors talking amongst themselves. All the Resistance members stood by their vehicles waiting for the Joker and Dollface to arrive. Dollface exited the van carrying her P90, headed to Bobby, and stood with him.

"Alright boys, you know the plan. Get to it," Joker ordered while putting on his black top hat. Joker then turned to face the Resistance members, who stood like an audience watching an interesting TV show.

"I suppose you have a plan for how we are going to do this?" asked Bobby.

"Of course I do!" exclaimed the clown. "Mingle with my men. Our combined fire power should be enough to wipe out Monroe."

All the Resistance members took positions among the twelve clowns at the bottom of the court house steps. They all drew their guns and held them ready. The ignorant reporters took no notice of them. Joker stood near Dollface and Bobby. He made hand signals to his men. Dollface watched with interest as six clowns dressed as mimes holstered their weapons, separated from the main group, and went about the street patting the air with their white gloves.

After nearly ten minutes, the mimes rejoined the group. Still confused about what she had just witnessed, Dollface returned her attention to the front doors of Gotham's courthouse. Without warning, Joker started to wave to people across the street. The crowd at the courthouse steps began to draw attention. People moved in for a closer look. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw a man walk toward the courthouse and suddenly stop in his tracks, his face ricocheting as if he had run into an invisible barrier. The man took a step back, rubbed his nose, a puzzled look on his face as he moved his hands around in the air; it looked as if he were massaging a wall. It wasn't until cars hit this force field at full speed that Rose finally realized what the mimes had done.

The courthouse door opened, and Winston Monroe stepped out followed by his henchmen and corrupt lawyers. Dollface aimed her P90, ready to fire. A brown gloved hand rested on top of it. She turned to see Bobby.

"We don't fire till he gives his signal," said Bobby.

Dollface nodded and turned her attention back to their prey; the group of reporters swarmed the mobster with questions, cameras, and microphones.

"Winston Monroe! Winston Monroe! Is it true you attempted to claim what money was left of Alex Kenniemore's bank accounts?" asked one reporter.

"In his last hours, Mr. Kenniemore sent me a signed order to empty his bank accounts. However, my late contemporary forgot to remove all security surrounding his accounts," answered Monroe.

"Hey, everybody around here says it was the legendary Joker who killed Kenniemore. Is that true?" asked another reporter.

Before Monroe could answer, the Joker turned to face him and the reporters.

"Yes, it was I who killed that pathetic excuse of a human being," Joker laughed.

Everybody turned their attention to the Joker.

"Yes, Mr. Monroe. Kenniemore did sign over what money he had in his possession to you. And he did so with this pen." The Joker held up a black fountain pen. "But Monroe, you must have read the order incorrectly because he signed that money over to me, not you," the Joker laughed.

Winston Monroe stood staring at the Joker, wearing a look of sheer confusion.

"Winston, time to pay the check," the Joker stated, aiming the fountain pen at Monroe and pressing the button on the other end.

Black ink shot out and hit Monroe in three places: his neck, chest and face. He cried out in agony as the acid ink on his body started to smoke. He grasped his neck and face as he fell to his knees, then to the ground on his side, dead. His bodyguards drew their concealed handguns and aimed at the Joker, who held up the pen, pressed the button again, which beeped and flashed an ominous red tip.

"I assure you, the pen is truly mightier than the gun," the Joker chuckled.

The men dropped their guns and put their hands up. The Joker turned towards his men and the Resistance, then declared, "You may fire when ready." Laughing, Joker turned to the stupefied men and simply said, "The joke's on you boys!" He threw his head back, laughing again.

All together the Resistance and the clowns opened fire upon Monroe's henchmen. There were ten in all; two fell immediately. The Joker reached into his blazer, pulled out a machine gun, and laughed as he shot into the sky. He then aimed for a runaway henchman and shot him down. Jack Montigaine laughed out loud, ran forward with his machine gun, killed three more men. Jack was in what the Resistance members call "Nelson Mode". If it weren't for his British origins, Rose could swear he was related to the famous 1930s outlaw, Baby Face Nelson. Joker shot another man. Dollface shot three others with her P90. The last two were killed either by the clowns or the Resistance. People stood around watching in both awe and fear as the Joker stretched out his arms and shouted:

"Hello, Gotham! There's a new Joker in town!" He then let out a laugh that sent a tremor of both fear and despair through Gotham itself.

The Joker then looked up. Rose turned to face the same direction. At the top of the Major Crimes Unit (MCU) building in a large window stood three people: Commissioner Gordon, Bruce Wayne, and a younger man. Rose recognized the younger man as Terry McGinnis, Bruce Wayne's assistant. Gordon quickly ran, disappearing into her office out of Rose's view. She turned back to the Joker, who looked at his henchman.

"Joseph, bazooka," he said.

Leather jacketed Joe handed Joker what he wanted; Joker aimed, then fired. A rocket flew toward the window; Rose saw Wayne and McGinnis retreat before the rocket hit its target. The corner of MCU became engulfed in flames as the office of Commissioner Gordon crumbled. Joker threw the Bazooka back to his henchman as an army of SWAT trucks followed by other police vehicles sped around the corner with sirens blaring. Several officers exited the vehicles when they stopped; they aimed their weapons at the crowd on the courthouse steps.

"Don't move!" one yelled.

"Put down your weapons!" another yelled.

"Surrender!" demanded another.

The clowns aimed their weapons in defense and defiance; Jack Montigain joined them.

"Alright boys, let's show these so-called law enforcement officers who really owns this town, okay?" Rose heard him jeer.

"And that, my friends, is our cue to skedaddle," chuckled the Joker.

The clowns ran from the Court House steps in a narrow line followed by the Resistance, following their lead so as not to run into the invisible barrier surrounding them. The cops protested and fired their weapons; bullets bounced off the force field; some of the projectiles ricocheted and hit the cops themselves.

"Hold fire!" one of them ordered.

The gunfire stopped; the Joker now stood in the center of the narrow pathway.

"That's all, folks," he laughed while addressing the surrounding crowd. He ran to the purple van, entered the driver's seat, and shut the door. He suddenly poked his head out. "Did someone call for an encore?" he asked as he held up a remote and pressed a button, laughing as he disappeared into the purple van.

The invisible barrier suddenly shattered; everyone around shielded themselves as shards of whatever the barrier was made of flew at them. The Joker's laughter was heard as the purple van and the Resistance vehicles sped away; the cops and SWAT boarded their vehicles and sped off in pursuit, although their efforts would ultimately be wasted.


	5. The Distant Sound of Laughter

The Distant Sound of Laughter

The mobster Francisco Enriquez stepped into the mob's brothel and walked to the reception desk.

"Oh, Mr. Enriquez, you must be here for your eleven o' clock?" asked the female receptionist at the front desk.

The overweight mobster cleared his face of his long hair. "Yeah, I'm here for that. Where is she?" replied the mobster.

"Why, she's upstairs waiting for you," answered a female voice.

"She's been waiting centuries for you, hasn't she, Dee Dee?" a similar voice interjected.

"More like millenniums, Dee Dee," the other voice replied.

Francisco turned to see Delia and Deidre Dennis, otherwise known as the Dee Dee twins. Clad in their two-piece outfits and clownish face paint, the Joker girls smiled back at him. One of the girls pointed to something behind him. Francisco turned to see an open elevator, and then swiveled to face the girls once again. They both winked at him in reply. Wishing to get away from them, Francisco marched to the elevator. Once inside, the mobster leaned against the back wall.

Francisco was startled by a poke on his shoulder. He turned to see one of the Dee Dee twins.

"Hope you don't mind if we join you Mr. Enriquez" said Delia intertwining her arm with his.

"Yeah," said Deidre now standing behind Francisco. "We couldn't help but notice you looked a lonely. Isn't that right Dee Dee?"

"Indeed Dee Dee," replied Delia.

Two minutes passed as the elevator climbed up to its destination. Francisco stood inside his sinuses had cleared due to the twin's strong perfume. Deidre laid her head on his shoulder and gave him long seductive looks and would bat her eye lashes at him. Delia gave him the same looks, she even would even stick her small hand up his sleeve her other arm still intertwined with his. Francisco was liking this

Delia let go of Francisco and leaned on her back against the wall with her legs out in front of her. Francisco stared down at them he liked what he saw slender, ivory and lengthy. Delia rubbed the toe of her red leather boot against the stupefied mobster's ankle and he was immediately taken out of his reverie.

"You know Francisco you seem to very popular among the ladies around here. They say you can make them do things they didn't even know they were capable of," said Delia breaking the silence.

"Yeah," said Deidre grabbing Francisco by the arm. "They say that you've got real guts" she said as she suddenly attacked him kicking him in his own gut.

Just then the elevator door rolled open and Francisco was pushed out of the machine, he feel on the floor with a thud. The smell of exotic perfume hung heavy in the air. Francisco looked up when he heard the sound of guns cocking above him.

"What the hell?" asked the befuddled mobster as he stared at the women clad in clown masks and face paint aiming guns at him, some of them he recognized as the brothels populace.

"Now, now girls," spoke a rather bone-chilling female voice. "Let's give Mr. Enriquez some breathing room."

Francisco looked forward in the direction of the voice he saw a pair of crossed legs long, slender and rather appealing. They wore violet high heels and seemed to emerge out of a violet skirt. Although the odd thing was that they appeared to be rather colorless. Francisco scrambled to his feet as the legs uncrossed and moved to a standing position.

The mobster froze a look of horror painted itself on his face as he stared at a woman whose face was the color of salt. She wore a crimson smile that was more like a red scar on snow. The woman's neatly trimmed eyebrows were red as well they matched with her red hair that stopped at her shoulders. She wore a violet blazer; one button was buttoned helping conceal a ruby colored blouse underneath.

Francisco was at a loss for words as he stared at the frightening beauty. "Ms… Who are you?"

"The name's Jokerette. I'm the new manager here" she answered.

"Jokerette? Wait a minute you're the one who killed Manny Rosales and his mafia," replied Francisco.

"Quiet correct 'fatso'," she commented on his weight as she approached him.

The mobster was quiet offended by her comment but had no time to replays she was slowly advancing upon him. He found the elevator blocked by both the Dee Dee Twins and the female clowns. Francisco backed away towards the other end of the office.

"Don't tell me your shy rotundo, I just wanna see you up close," Jokerette mocked.

Francisco was now on the opposite end of the office. He felt cold air behind him; he turned to see an open window. _"How'd that get open?"_ he thought.

"You know Francisco I've received some complaints about you" said Jokertte. "A lot of the girls say that you hit them and abuse them,"

"Yes I admit to that and I'll keep on doing that"

"Oh really?" she asked as she was handed a bazooka by one of the clowns.

She aimed it at the mobster.

"No! I was just joking" the mobster replied in desperation.

Jokerette pulled the trigger of the bazooka. Relief appeared on the mobster's face as he saw a flag saying "KABOOM!" come out instead of an actual rocket. "So was I," she chuckled while waving the bazooka in the air making the flag wave at the same time.

Jokerette suddenly aimed and pulled the trigger once again and the flag flew out and struck the mobster in the chest. "Oops, no I wasn't" she said.

Francisco fell out the open window and was seen no more. Jokerette turned to the women behind her.

"Well what do ya think girls? Are you going to help me claim this city by killing scum like that or are you gonna sit out?

A chorus of "where're in!" was heard in reply.

Another female clown walked in "Jokerette, you know who is here to pick you up."

"Oh, well it's about time. Girls I'll see you all a bit later," Jokerette said as she took out a small container, she opened it and stuck her fingers inside getting out tan colored material and began rubbing it on her face. "I have to go fight crime right now" she left the room laughing out loud.

2:00 P.M. The Batcave

Bruce Wayne sat in the chair facing the large computer screen. He watched the news report with a look of disappointment.

"Another win for Duela Dent!" declared the reporter. "The newly anointed District Attorney has put away over two hundred criminals. Duela Dent has vastly exceeded the reputation of her father former District Attorney Harvey Dent AKA Harvey Two-Face."

The camera swerved toward the dark-haired DA who wore a smile on her face as usual. She wore a black blazer and matching skirt and high heels.

"Duela Dent! Duela Dent!" yelled a female reporter armed with a microphone. "Miss Dent can we get a statement from you?"

"People of Gotham City. As promised I have brought change. Justice has been served." Stated Duela Dent.

"Your father would be proud of you Miss Dent" replied reporter.

"He inspires me every day, ma'am."

Bruce shut off the news, with a sigh of disgust.

"Nothing good on huh? Asked Terry who now stood beside the chair.

"Duela Dent puts on quite a show and all those citizens are sold too easily," replied Bruce.

"Well of course they're sold," said Terry. "All the men in this city drool all over her because of her good looks. And well women are happy because one of them now has a place of power in this city. Plus Dent wins because the Judge Feldon seems to favor her for some reason."

"She's sleeping with him," Bruce answered.

"How do you deduce that?"

"I went to one of the trials. That judge bows to her every whim, and Dent flaunts herself in front of him. I seriously think that this imposter is a disgrace to the original Harvey Dent."

"You think she's a fake?" asked Terry.

"Come on Terry. People come up with new ways to fake DNA every day especially in this day and age. Besides I've also learned never to trust people who smile all the time."

"Alright are you ready to go?" asked Terry quickly changing the subject.

"Yes," Bruce said as he shut down the computer and got up out of the chair.

Soon both Bruce and Terry were in the car.

"So who are you going to go visit this time?" Terry asked putting on his seat belt.

"An old friend" Bruce replied.

Terry started the ignition "Where do I go?"

"Arkham."

Terry shivered at the very name of Arkham. He had only been there a few times, but he grew to dislike the Asylum. There were too many maniacs there.

Arkham Asylum

Terry and Bruce arrived at Arkham Asylum, as they stood in the waiting room the receptionist helped them right away.

"Mr. Wayne, Welcome to Arkham. I assume you're here to see Emily Hart right?"

"Yes," answered Bruce.

"Alright Mr. Wayne if and your assistant would follow me I'll escort you too her" replied the receptionist.

Bruce and Terry followed the receptionist down the long hall. The hall were the same depressing white color. Gotham's worst criminal were housed here, if not on the loose of course. Because of the weak justice system and corrupt beurocrats naming various punishment cruel and unusual everyday, a lot of these criminal escaped their deserved punishment. Gotham was lucky that the vigilante known as the "Punisher" wasn't on his way to Gotham. This person that Bruce was apparently on the first floor of the Asylum, that was where all the low level risk patients were kept. The receptionist lead them to a cell, its occupant was a lady in her late fifties, early sixties. What little blonde hair she had left on her hair was slowly turning gray. Her hands seemed to shake as she stared down at the floor. The woman looked up as the door to her cell was opened by a nearby security guard and Bruce entered followed by Terry and the guard.

"Bruce Wayne!" exclaimed the old woman "It's been too long."

"Indeed Emily, I've been meaning to come see you more often but I've been-

"Too busy running your company right?" Emily interrupted.

"Yes," replied Bruce.

Emily gestured to a newspaper "Today's paper was most informative." Emily turned her attention to Terry "Now who's this handsome young man?" she asked.

"Emily this is my assistant Terry McGinnis," Bruce answered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Hart," Terry greeted as he stepped forward and shook her hand.

The elderly woman's hand felt weak, frail and cold. It was weak hand shake, and it wasn't until he saw her up close that Terry finally recognized who this was. It was Emily Hart the lady who was left traumatized after being raped by Andrew Grissom.

"Bruce could you imagine if Rose were here? She'd be all over this boy. Flirting with him asking him all kinds of questions and batting her eyelashes" Stated Emily.

"She was famous for that wasn't she?" replied Bruce.

"If only..." Emily's voice trailed off. "She were here" a single tear rolled down the old woman's cheek and hit the floor as she turned to look at a 'missing person's poster that hung on the wall that had a picture of Rose Hart and details concerning her personal person.

"I miss her so much Bruce," Emily said as she looked down and began sobbing.

"I know Emily. I know," replied Bruce in a sympathetic tone.

"But mark my words Bruce!" Emily's head suddenly shot up, her cheeks red with tears a stern look in her eyes. "She is alive. I know it."

"I believe that Emily. That's what I've come here to talk about in fact"

Emily cocked head her tears seemed to cease.

"A few friends of mine in the MCU have reported seeing someone that matches Rose's description therefore I've asked Commissioner Gordon to reopen the case,"

"Oh thank you Bruce," Emily stood up and hugged Bruce.

"Oh I'm sorry to break this up," interrupted a nurse. "But it is time for Ms. Hart's appointment with Dr. Arkham."

Emily left the room escorted by the nurse and a guard.

"Keep me apprised of your results Bruce!" Emily yelled as she was being taken away.

"I will," Bruce yelled back.

Terry's cell phone suddenly rang. The caller ID read "Commissioner Gordon". Terry answered saying "Hello,"

"Hello Terry, we've received some reports from our friends in the FBI that indicates Viktor Ramonova will be speaking for Grissom tonight at Harper's Steel Mill." Gordon responded.

"So instead of Grissom I'll be bringing in Ramonova?"

"Yes. However tonight's a little different GCPD and the FBI are also going to be there tonight, they've apparently got a man on the inside who will send the signal for them to breach."

"And when they breach I skedaddle right?" asked Terry.

"Exactly. And be careful the steel mill will be guarded by two mobsters instead of one. So that will mean double the amount of security," Gordon said before hanging up.

Bobby Valentino's Apartment 5:00 PM

The sky was growing darker by five o clock, but seemed to halt at a gray stand still as the approaching moon was concealed by clouds. Snow started to fall on the streets of Gotham. Rose could see this out of the window as she sat in Bobby's apartment.

Rose observed this through the lenses of her mask as she sat in a chair waiting for Bobby. The cold air that seemed to enter the apartment through an unseen draft did not bother her. The boots, fur coat, and black jeans she wore kept her perfectly warm. She turned her attention to her black suitcase, Bobby had told her that she would not be returning to the casino that night maybe the day after that. In the case rose had packed a change of clothes, all her necessary hygiene tools such as a toothbrush etc. She had also had in her wallet $40,000 dollars given to her by Bobby for eradicating a federal agent who had been following and harassing a member of the Resistance.

Rose enjoyed her assassin service for the Resistance though she thought Bobby spoiled her with the reward money. Killing enemies of the Resistance seemed to give Rose pleasure and enjoyment just as much as a common teenager might get from drugs, sex, and alcohol. Especially killing gangbangers, mobsters, and other common killers gave Rose the ability to administer justice in her own twisted way. However Rose would never be able to satisfy her insationable need to kill, the need was so powerful that she would shoot any random person regardless of whether they were a criminal or a civilian. When she killed Rose felt that she was on top a goddess among insects. She needed something to quench her thirst for bloodshed. But who or what could either give her a reason to kill or a reason to stop?

Rose stood as the door to the apartment opened; Bobby came in with three other men.

"Rose I'd like you to meet the new members of the Resistance," said Bobby.

The first one was a bald African-American man in his mid-thirties; he reached his hand forward for Rose to shake. "It's an honor to meet you Dollface my name is Giancarlo Morillo," he said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well sir," replied Rose.

Rose moved on to the next new member who was a tall thin white male who looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies, his head was mostly bald except for gray hair of the sides and back. He held his hand. "Hello my name is Luis Castana," he said.

"It is truly a pleasure," Rose replied.

The third and last man if he could be called a man he was more of a giant. The man was African-American like the first man, with his broad-shoulders and bulky-figure towered over everyone in the room. He held out his large hand for Rose to shake "Hello there Miss my name's Agostino Cleto. I work for Eric Wolf, I own the bar on Seventh Street if you need anything just come to me. Oh and by the way drinks for Resistance members are on the house."

Everyone in the room laughed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Cleto, "said Rose still laughing.

"Well Bobby it's been a pleasure but that bar can't manage itself I'll see you later," Agostino as he left the apartment.

"The same could be said of that delivery package Giancarlo," said Luis.

"Right we better leave now," replied Giancarlo.

The two men said their goodbyes and left the room.

Bobby turned his attention to Rose. "Rose I need you to make sure there are no survivors tonight Ramonova and his men, Grissom's men I need you to eliminate them. If even one slips by they could report back to Grissom."

"I'll do my best," replied Rose.

"The Joker, Jack, Zelenka and a few of the Joker's clowns will back you up on this job,"

"What about the nuclear materials that are supposed to be their?" asked Rose.

"We can't risk Grissom getting his hands on them. Make sure you get rid of them."

Rose picked up her suitcase and P90. Bobby said "Goodbye and good luck" before she left.

Harper's Steel Mill 6:00 P.M.

It was now nightfall, Dollface stood against the white delivery van she and the strike group had arrived in Jack and Zelenka stood with the clowns. There were six clowns including Nigel Bellows and Joe the leather-jacketed clown. The Joker was also was present he had changed back to his violet suit and sported an orange undershirt. He stood staring out into the distance.

"What's the plan Jokes?" asked Nigel.

"Alright kids we split into groups of two," said the Joker. "Brit and Russian," he said indicating Jack and Zelenka "you two are one group; you'll go in on the East side."

Zelenka cocked his AK47 the same time as Jack loaded his Tommy gun. Out of all the members of the Resistance Jack and Zelenka were the only ones considered armed and dangerous. Jack owned over a hundred Tommy guns and Zelenka had stock piled former Soviet Union weaponry.

"Nigel and Joe," continued Joker. "You two will go in on the west side." "Bozo and Chucky you two the South side, Freddy and Jason you two go in through the window." Joker turned towards Dollface. "The lady and I will go through the North side." He said slyly.

Under her mask Rose rolled her eyes as everyone made wolf whistles. As the group departed to their infiltration points Rose opened the passenger door of the van and retrieved her personal weapon. It was a tool of her own making, a crossbow she stole from a hunting supply store attached onto a M16 machine gun recently developed for the military it could alternate between laser and automatic gunfire, it also was a equipped with a sniper scope. Rose strapped this weapon on her back along with a quiver holding crossbow bolts. With this she now carried four weapons in all her P90, a handgun, a butcher knife, and her own weapon which she called _"Final Judgment". _For it was with this weapon she used to execute her victims.She didn't hear the Joker approach behind her. He eyed her weapon.

"Nice," he rated. "You like mine?" he held out a weapon from which he held it by the handle and on each side was a laser pistol.

Rose wasn't surprised it seemed he would carry a weapon like that however it made Rose want one herself. The Joker looked her for a long time in a disturbing kind of like a pervert looking his next victim. In an odd way Rose would not mind being his next victim. The clown walked away, with the assassin following.

"After you," he chuckled.

Rose entered. With the Joker directly behind her, she had a disconcerted feeling.

Meanwhile Batman was on the roof of the steel mill. Terry pressed the button in his glove turning on the listening device that connected to the microphone in his mask. He pressed his fingers to the roof, in an instant he picked up the conversation that was going on inside the main office.

"So this is the nuclear material you promised?" asked a Russian voice obviously belonging to Viktor Ramonova.

"Yeah this is it," replied a voice that spoke in a Brooklyn accent who Terry immediately recognized as James Falcony as usual it had a pitch to it that made the mobster sound as if he were high.

"You can tell Grissom he can trust me with his money. Hell, I worship that guy. He truly is the top mobster in Gotham," continued Falcony.

Terry continued to listen in on the conversation. Meanwhile Dollface walked across the steel walkway the Joker walked behind watching their back. Rose could hear him cackle to himself from time to time. Rose came to part where the walkway went off in two ways one led further into the mill the main office could be seen a few feet away. The other way lead to a restroom no use in going that direction.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened the requisite sound of the toilet flushing could be heard as well. Rose turned with her handgun aimed and shot the unaware man who had just stepped out of the restroom. Joker pulled Rose into a dark corner as the man fell to the ground and the office door opened. Rose cursed under her breath as her gun had not been silenced.

Joker gave a wolf whistle. "A clean-kill, Dolly. Just as hot as you."

"What the hell was that?" demanded Falcony.

Meanwhile, outside the mill inside an ordinary-looking delivery van, an FBI Agent cursed and threw down his headset and ordered his fellow agents out of the van. Their man on the inside had been dispatched.

"I'll check it out, boss," volunteered one of Falcony's men.

Ramonova ordered his men to join the other man in identifying the disturbance.

As the henchmen emerged from the office, others who had heard the shot came from their spots and joined the search. Joker pulled out a radio and spoke into it:

"Alright, boys, they're out. Fill em' with holes!" he said cheerfully into the radio.

Rose grabbed the clown by the collar of his suit. "Leave none alive."

Joker grabbed her hand and kissed it. "As you wish, Dolly," he replied.

Just as the shooting began and Jack's laughs and war cries rang out, both the Joker and Dollface emerged from the corner and joined the fray. The Joker fired his weapon; two lasers shot out from the dual pistols and struck two henchmen dead. He rushed at a third with an unseen vibroblade, stabbing the man in the chest, then decapitating him completely. At the end of his kill, he let out a blood-curdling laugh that could be heard throughout the mill. Dollface had holstered her hand gun and switched to her P90, shooting a barrage of henchmen. She finished off a wounded one and threw his body down below where she saw Jack, Zelenka, and the clowns in a gunfight with at least twenty henchmen.

Suddenly an unseen man grabbed Dollface and threw her onto the metal ground. Rose's back surged with pain; she ignored it and returned her attention to her assailant, who now stood above her with a knife. Someone tapped him on his right shoulder. When he turned to the right to see who is was, the Joker stepped from behind the assailant's left. Clear liquid hit the man in the face when he turned back around. Back on her feet, crouching, Dollface watched the Joker shoot acid from the green carnation on his lapel. The stream ceased, the Joker laughed, and the man screamed in agony, dropping his knife and covering his hissing face. Rose grabbed her P90 and finished him off. She allowed the Joker to help her to her feet.

"Thank you," Rose said, surprised to find herself telling the clown this.

"Watch yourself, Dolly…can't protect you all the time," he replied. Rose rolled her eyes.

Dollface put the P90 in an empty sheath on her belt and then drew _Final Judgment. S_he notched two arrows in the crossbow and brought the scope to the lense of her mask. Viktor Ramonova was in plain sight. Rose released the arrows; the Russian mob boss looked at her with disbelief as both arrows struck him both in the chest. Ramonova slumped against the office wall; his head fell to the side as blood began to flow from his mouth. Dollface raced to the office with Joker following behind. Once inside, Rose identified two crates: one held Grissom's money, and the other contained the nuclear shipment, easily identified by the bio hazard symbol on top.

"We have to get these crates out of here," said Rose.

"I don't think so, lady." James Falcony appeared from the back of the office holding a handgun. He turned his attention to the Joker and aimed the gun at him. "This is gonna be sweet," he admitted. Falcony pulled the trigger; to Rose's great surprise, the gun backfired, and the laser hit the mobster in the face. Falcony fell down dead, his face a smoking and barley recognizable pile of flesh.

Joker laughed as he picked up the gun. "They always fall for that one."

"These crates, they contain the money and nuclear package. We need to get them out of here!" stated Dollface.

"Wanna see a magic trick, Dolly?" Joker asked. He put his hands on both crates, and they suddenly disappeared into thin air. Joker must have had a micro-transporter device on his hands; either that, or the crates disintegrated. Rose did not know which. "Problem solved," he grinned at her.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Batman fought the henchmen that had been dispatched to check out the area; on the lower level, the clowns and henchmen were still battling it out. So far, none of the clowns had fallen, although the henchmen kept coming like maggots out of a rotting corpse. Jack had reloaded his Tommy gun three times now; Zelenka had disposed of his empty AK47 and switched to his BA-12 Assault Rifle. Nigel Bellows was now arming a chain gun, which was doing almost all the work. A few minutes later, all the henchmen had fallen. The clowns scattered among the dead bodies, collecting weapons and other important items from the corpses.

All the clowns started to depart from the building. Zelanka followed.

"Where are you going? There're more coming!" Jack declared as he pointed his gun at the now wobbling door on the other end of the mill.

"That's the Feds," replied Nigel. "Come on, Mr. Montigain. We have to go before the cops arrive," he said pulling Jack by the arm.

"Into the van!" ordered Nigel.

"What about Joker and Dollface?" inquired Zelanka.

Nigel started the engine. "As Joker likes to say: 'It's all part of the plan." Nigel drove away.

On the roof, Batman knocked out the last thug. Something had gone on inside, and it was imperative that Terry investigate it. He broke the window on the side of the mill and then glided onto the metal walkway.

"Well, if it isn't our friendly neighborhood rodent, his ears flaming and all," addressed a rather familiar voice.

Batman turned to see the Joker, who shot at him with his double-sided gun. Batman dodged the bullets and flew towards the clown. Joker picked up a lead pipe from a dead thug and swung it at the Bat, who simultaneously reached the Joker, knocking the pipe out of the clown's hands. Batman moved to punch Joker in the face, but the clown caught his fist like a baseball.

"You'll have to do better than that, birdbrain!" laughed the clown.

The Joker and Batman started their fist fight. Dollface was about to lend the Joker a hand when she was targeted by two more rats hiding in the mill.

"Shh, she won't hear a thing," whispered a vaguely familiar voice.

Rose whipped around to face the Bravo brothers, Jose and Angel, who aimed a .45 caliber pistol at Dollface. Jose forced it down.

"Andy wants her alive!" he protested.

Before Angel could react, Rose kicked the gun out of his hands and then knocked him down. Jose ran at her with a crowbar. Dollface quickly disarmed the mobster then broke his neck. Rose turned to see Angel standing up, machete in hand. The mobster brought it down upon her but missed. Dollface maneuvered out of the way as she drew her butcher knife and stabbed Angel in the chest. Angel fell to his knees holding his chest; he then fell on his face, dead. She wiped her bloody butcher knife on Angel's corpse and sheathed it. Rose retrieved the machete, crowbar, and the .45 pistol. She also took their cell phones, knowing they might contain information. One question plagued her mind: Why did Grissom want her now?

Joker attempted to punch Batman; however, he failed as Batman caught the clown's fist. Under the mask, an expression of surprise grew on Terry's face as Joker's fist seemed to come right off. Joker laughed as he wiggled his real hand. He then punched Batman with his other hand, forcing Terry to let go of the fake fist and defend himself. Joker got a free hit. Terry ignored the pain and moved to strike again, but the clown surprised him by striking him with a concealed vibro blade. The blade struck Terry in the chest, and he was suddenly knocked off the metal walkway.

"Too easy," mocked the Joker. "Played you like a violin and cut your strings." The clown turned and walked away.

Utilizing his rocket boots, Batman flew back up, his red wings spread, and glided toward the Joker. Suddenly, Dollface opened fire upon him with the .45, forcing Terry to jump down on the edge of the walkway and dodge the bullets. One hit him in his chest. He groaned in pain as there would soon be a very dark bruise there.

The doors at the bottom of the warehouse suddenly busted open at the same time. Men ran inside yelling, "FBI! Freeze!" and "Gotham PD! Freeze!"

Terry turned to face the clown and the assassin. Joker dashed over to Dollface and grabbed her by the waist. "Junior Bird Man!" he yelled at Batman. "Catch us if you can!" He laughed. Suddenly both the Joker and Dollface disappeared into thin air.

Terry activated the Batman suit's invisibility cloak and exited out the window he had come through. Dollface looked around to find herself in the passenger seat of a delivery van; her baggage and the weapons she had collected were at her feet. She turned to see the two crates she and the Joker had seized secure in the cargo area. Rose turned to the Joker, who sat in the driver's seat grinning at her.

"How did you do that?" Rose inquired.

"Magic," Joker replied while starting the engine. "Buckle up, Dolly. We're going for a ride."

Joker drove the delivery van out of the parking lot and headed back to Gotham Central. Meanwhile, in the sky Terry navigated the Batmoble. The audio communication was on, and the caller ID read Bruce Wayne.

"We've got a problem, Bruce," Terry said to Bruce.

"I had already assumed that when you told me the Joker escaped," replied Bruce.

"There's more. Joker and Dollface were working together. I almost had the clown. If she hadn't of shot at me, I'd probably be on my way back to Arkham right now."

"Joker and Dollface? Working together? How strange."

"How is that strange? You know the Joker has ways of making even the strongest of minds carry out his will."

"Well, that will just add to our troubles," said Wayne.

"What do you mean?" asked Terry.

"Well, recently there have been murders around downtown Gotham. So far a cop, a mob lawyer and the Rosales gang have been found dead, and the police say new bodies pile up every day. There are no clear suspects, but we do know the perpetrator leaves behind a bouquet of violet, green, and red roses.

"Sounds like the Joker to me," Terry said almost instantly.

"No, Barbra's pretty convinced the perp is a woman,"

"Then it might be Dollface."

"No, the FBI is collaborating with Gotham PD on the case. Their profiler is pretty adamant that this is not Dollface. He says that the rose bouquet is not her MO," replied Bruce.

"Well, I still think it might be Dollface, Wayne. You know serial killers will always change their MO if allowed to. Don't you remember the Gotham Ripper?"

"Please don't remind me," warned Bruce. "Just get back to the cave."

"Alright," said Terry as he closed the transmission.

"Something bothering you, Dolly?" asked Joker sounding concerned. However, anyone who knew the Joker could tell it was a false tone.

"Yes. Why would Grissom be after me now?" confirmed Rose as she took off her mask.

"He's always wanted you, Doll; he likes you," replied the Joker.

"That's convenient," Rose stated flatly. "I wish I had killed him a long time ago. I wish my family would receive their long-awaited justice."

"You could've killed him a long time ago; why didn't you?"

"I've always taken orders from Bobby all this time. He told the Resistance that the best way to defeat Andrew Grissom was to weed out the mob little by little. However, we just resorted to trying to assassinate the son of a bitch," Rose said, the last part wrapped in a venomous tone.

"Well, I see the problem already," the clown chuckled.

"And what is that!" Rose demanded in an infuriated tone. She could already feel her throat closing up to choke back the emotion of her remembered family.

"Calm down, Doll. Don't lose your venom on me."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Hint: his name is a palindrome, the same spelled backwards as it is forwards," laughed the Joker.

Her brain floundered in search of the answer. "Bob… Bobby? You think he's the problem?"

Rose's eyes blinked back the moisture that would have formed a tear…if she had let it.

"Well, you've been following his every order in the past; you had millions of chances to ice Grissom, Doll. But Bob just wants you to wait until the entire mob is defeated. And we both know that's never gonna to happen." Joker smirked at her.

"Bobby promised he'd let me decapitate Grissom in the end, though," replied Rose.

"Bobby promised. But did he mean it, Doll? As I recall, he also ignored your advances, which tells me he must be cookoo in the head or something. Because you're definitely hotter than that other dame he's shacking up with these days."

"You…bring a valid point to light; Bobby has been a stone in my path," Rose finally agreed.

"You know, Doll, I can remove that stone and give you the perfect chance to put that has-been mobster out of your misery for a relatively small price," he grinned at her.

"What price do you speak of?" she asked.

Joker suddenly stopped the truck. Rose looked out the window and saw they were in front of the Napier Hotel,one of the most expensive hotels in Gotham. The mob had been after it for years.

"You know what I want," the Joker stated flatly.

Rose turned to face him. The clown grinned widely at her, anticipating her decision.

"You and I can rule Gotham together…forever," he said.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you'll just have to find some other way, I suppose," the Joker said, looking down and holding his chin. "But then again, just know I'll be back once this city is mine and all its competitors lie dead. You better have that answer by then," he laughed as he exited the vehicle.

Rose donned her mask as she exited the truck and walked to the door of the Napier_. _The Joker stood at the front desk; she joined him. Rose noticed the lobby was relatively empty; however, the bar was bustling with noise as she saw Jack drinking with a bunch of men. Jack raised his cup to Rose; she nodded back. A young, blond girl came out to help them who looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.

"Ah, Mr. Napier, welcome back," said the girl with a rather cheerful look on her face.

"Thanks. Are Mr. Montaigne and Mr. Zelenka settled in yet?" asked the Joker.

"Yes Mr. Napier," replied the girl.

A man dressed in black also sporting mid-length black hair entered the lobby.

"Hey, Jokes, good to have you back," said the man in an Australian accent.

Rose immediately recognized him—Nigel Bellows. She had never seen the henchman without his clown mask on.

"Nigel, there's some precious cargo in my delivery van; you know where to take it," said the Joker.

"Sure thing, Jokes. I'll get right on that," replied Nigel.

Nigel wished Dollface a goodnight as he left the lobby. Joker led Dollface to an elevator; the inside was just as elegant as the lobby was.

"So, you're Jack Napier? Grissom's been after this hotel for years," said Dollface.

"He'll never get his grimy little hands on it," Joker laughed.

Joker suddenly stopped the elevator. He then began to press the floor buttons in a combination of sorts. Then he started the elevator up again.

They were going down instead of up.

"I just want to show you something, Dolly," stated the clown.

Rose sighed under the mask as she knew she would have to tolerate whatever surprise the clown had in store for her.

The elevator came to a stop, and the doors rolled open to a wide hall. The Joker stepped out followed by Dollface. The clown led the assassin to a balcony. They stood together, and Rose could hardly believe what she saw below her. There was a large ship, the size of the original Hindenburg. It had clownish decals all over it and was the color violet. At the front of it was a huge Joker face.

"Isn't she beautiful?" asked the Joker "I call her the Flying Harlequin," he continued.

"She certainly is," replied Rose, not knowing exactly what to say.

The Joker chuckled. "Come, Dolly, there's more."

They departed from that balcony where Joker led her down the hall till they reached another balcony. There Rose looked down upon an army of clowns. They stood in perfect lines; each held an M-16 laser rifle in its arms and sported violet combat armor. There must have been over 50,000 of them.

"How in…the world?" Rose asked in a baffled and somewhat surprised tone.

"You see, Doll, I can't always rely on my men for everything, so I built myself an army. And believe me, there's more where they came from." The Joker burst into laughter. "They are totally obedient, following any order without question. They are the instruments with which I intend to conquer Gotham. Come along, Dolly, there's more you absolutely must see!" He ran into the hall with the assassin following behind.

Rose caught up with the lunatic, eventually joining him at another balcony.

"Going down," grinned the Joker. He activated a hidden mechanism, and the balcony they stood upon lowered itself as if it were an elevator.

When they were at the bottom, part of the wall of the balcony sunk, forming a way out of the balcony-like elevator. Its passengers stepped out and entered what looked like a weapons lab, but it was much more. There were tables full of various guns, swords, and knives—anything that acted as a weapon was there. There were vehicles of all types as well: cars, tanks, jets, helicopters, etc. In another part of the lab was a dock where boats and submarines were stored. A large, clown-decaled aircraft carrier labeled The USS Jokerwas there as well.

A tall clown walked up to them. Rose noticed he was different from the rest of the Joker's soldiers. He or she, Rose could not really tell, was about 6'6", wearing a violet poncho over a suit of battle armor. Although what really stood out about this clown was its mask. It was rather large; red hair stuck up from the top, large black holes served for its eyes, a red ball for a nose, and a gruesome smile spread across it. Two machine pistols were holstered at his sides. Rose recognized him; it was the serial killer: "The Killer Clown."

"Dolly, you may have seen this guy on TV. Now he works for me," chuckled the Joker.

Killer Clown nodded at both of them before handing the Joker a large and gleaming diamond.

"Beautiful," Joker observed. "So the old man is dead?" Joker asked.

The Killer Clown nodded in reply, then walked away.

"I heard your birthday is tomorrow, Dolly," said the Joker.

"No, it isn't," lied Rose.

"Don't lie to me, Dolly; don't you know that blackens your soul? After all, I should be the one to know." Joker laughed out loud. He placed the large diamond in her hands. "Here you are—a diamond for a true gem," laughed the Joker.

The Batcave 10:00 P.M.

Terry removed his mask and walked up the stairs to find Bruce standing at the computer, talking to a young, attractive woman with brown hair and blue eyes. From the way she was dressed: a trench coat over a red dress and stockings leading down to black high heels, Terry assumed that she was another applicant for Wayne Enterprises. But why Bruce would be interviewing her in the Batcave of all places was beyond Terry. Ace pushed up on his hind legs up and greeted Terry, who in return petted the Great Dane on the head. At this Bruce and the supposed applicant turned to face Terry. The woman was even more beautiful up close. Bruce was the first to speak.

"Welcome back, Terry," he gestured to the woman. "This is my daughter, Patricia."

"Ah, Huntress, I've heard a lot about you," said Terry as the two shook hands.

"You can call me Patricia, Mr. McGinnis," she replied as their hands separated.

"Please call me Terry."

"Okay, Terry," she laughed.

"Terry, Patricia will be helping us out since apparently there's something much bigger than what we perceived at first," Bruce interjected.

"That's right!" said Patricia. "You said there's another Joker in Gotham. Dollface is up to her usual killing spree. And you also said there's a serial killer in downtown."

"That is correct; Barbra has also promised that the GPD is at our disposal," replied Bruce.

"Just another day at the office, huh?" asked Patricia. "Well, it was a long flight back, and I'm pretty tired." Patricia kissed Bruce on the cheek. "Goodnight, Dad, I'll see you in the morning." She turned to Terry. "Goodnight, Terry. It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you, too. Goodnight," Terry replied.

Patricia turned and headed to the stairs leading out of the Batcave.

"Well, I'm off to Wayne if it's okay with you?"

"Alright, can you be here tomorrow about 8:00 a.m.?" asked Bruce.

"Why?"

"Patricia and I are going to see Barbra. I'd like you to come with us and personally report to her what you witnessed tonight. Also the FBI liaison on this case will be there. Barbra said it is important that we meet with him."

"Okey dokey, see you at eight. Goodnight," Terry replied before he left.

Ninth Street 10:34 p.m.

Giancarlo Morillo drove an unmarked Sedan across Ninth Street. In the passenger seat sat Luis Castana holding a .45 revolver. Giancarlo parked the Sedan in front of a liquor store.

"Are you sure this is the place, Luis? It doesn't look like the kind of place Valentino would send us to deliver the package," he asked.

"Valentino said this was the place. Louis' Liquor Mart…this is definitely the place," replied Luis.

Suddenly, Jokerette stepped out of the store followed by four female clowns. Giancarlo pulled out his .22 pistol.

"Those are the ones who did away with Manny Rosales. We should leave and inform Bobby that we've been compromised!" he said as he reached to start the car.

"On the contrary, Mr. Morillo. It is you who has been compromised," replied Luis as he shot Giancarlo twice with his revolver and then exited the vehicle.

Giancarlo Morillo slumped to his side dead, the bullets having hit him in the chest. Luis holstered his revolver.

"You're better than I thought," chuckled Jokerette.

"Coming from you, I know that's not a compliment," replied Luis.

"Oh and why? Mr. Professional Mobster doesn't like doing jobs for Jokerette?" She walked toward the trunk of the sedan, took out a hand gun, and shot the lock to the trunk, which then opened. "So this is the package?"

"Yes," replied Luis now standing beside her.

Jokerette removed a large shotgun from the crate, which was filled with various weapons and gadgets raided by the Resistance. The shotgun, however, seemed to interest the female Joker. The fire arm itself was huge and heavy; it was the Man Hunter Shotgun.

"I was told that there were four," she inquired.

"They were removed. Valentino gave one to Dollface, and the other two..." Luis' voice trailed off. "…went to your brother," he said looking down.

A cold wind blew by as silence proceeded. Jokerette, at the very mention of her brother, suddenly took the shotgun and executed a nearby van that was parked across the street in front of a convenience store. The shot sounded like a tank discharge, and the van burst into flames, flew up into the air and crashed back to the ground. A man walking by suddenly turned and ran. One of the clowns shot the man down with AK47. Jokerette shot the female clown in the head with her handgun.

"That's my job," she stated flatly. "Where did the fourth go?"

"A federal agent took it," Luis answered.

Jokerette ordered her remaining clowns to take the crate away.

"The war for Gotham has begun, Mr. Castana. Are you with me? Or are you with him?" asked Jokerette as she aimed the handgun at Luis.

"I'm yours," replied Luis with no apparent hesitation. Jokerette lowered the gun.

"Soon Gotham will be mine. My brother is a fool if he thinks he can stop me. I have all of Gotham under my command. As father said, there can only be one Joker in Gotham." Jokerette started to shoot at buildings and cars, her maniacal laugh filling the air.

Rose sat on the edge of the bed in the suite given to her; her mask was off. In her mind she debated what answer she should give the Joker regarding his offer to be Queen of his Gotham. The clown wanted her; part of her lusted after him. Rose's physical side craved pleasure, which she was more than sure the Joker could provide. However, another voice spoke in her mind: her conscience, which said it was a disastrous idea.

"_It's a bad idea, Rose; everything that you have done has been a bad idea, but you still have a chance to redeem yourself. Throw away the life of the assassin; become a normal person. Get a job, meet a nice guy, settle down, have a kid or two. You won't live forever, especially not in this business," _Rose's conscience argued.

"_Get real; that bastard Grissom killed your family. He deserves to die, and your family deserves justice. Plus the Joker has offered you the life, for a relatively small price. Let him take possession of you, Rose. Joker is gonna give you the chance to kill Grissom and avenge your family, and if he really conquers Gotham, you will have a place of power alongside him. Besides, he's perfect for you, Rose, a freak… just like you," _argued another side.

The two sides continued to argue; her mind was a courtroom, and she was the defendant.

"Shut up!" Rose yelled in frustration. She looked around; the two sides seemed to have gone silent.

"I didn't know you talked to yourself, but that just makes you more attractive. Besides, the fact that you're a freak like me."

Rose turned to see the Joker standing in the open door way. Rose stood up.

"I've made my decision," she said.

The Joker stepped into the room. "Well, I don't have all night, Doll. Spit it out!"

"I'm yours," she replied. Rose strode forward and stopped just inches away from the clown. She then put her arms around Joker's neck and pulled him into a kiss, a long, motionless kiss; it was pleasure-filled but dry. Rose pulled away and ended it.

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to assure me of _your_ loyalty." The Joker licked his lips as he then pushed her down onto the bed.

Major Crimes Unit 10:50 p.m.

Commissioner Gordon walked into the office of Detective John Nolan.

"Evening, Commissioner," he greeted.

"Good evening, Nolan. I'm still missing your report of what happened this morning."

"Almost ready, ma'am," Detective Nolan said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Barbra noticed this. Nolan was sweating more than he should have been; the heaters inside the building were not functioning, so it was constantly cold inside the building. Why was he sweating then, and why was it unusually warm inside Nolan's office?

"Well, bring your report to me when it's done."

Nolan nodded in reply.

Gordon was just a few feet away from Nolan's office when she heard the detective call her name in a tone of distress. She whipped around to stare back at Nolan, who was now standing in his office doorway. His face was soaked with sweat; blood ran down from his nose and eyes. Gordon was shocked; she had never seen anything like this before.

"Call the medics!" she yelled at a nearby observer.

The detective suddenly spontaneously combusted and was engulfed in flames; the explosion broke the windows.

"Call the fire department!" ordered Gordon after rising from a duck-and-cover position.

In the aftermath of the unexplained explosion, the MCU bustled with activity. Gordon walked to the broken widows and looked out where explosions could be seen all around Gotham. At least five more explosions could be heard and felt throughout the MCU. An icy breeze blew through the room, and the distant sound of laughter could be heard. Both female and male and maniacal in form, the chorus chilled Gordon to the very bone.


End file.
